Selective oxidation of alcohols by molecular oxygen over a Pd/MgO catalyst in the absence of any additives

Selective oxidation of alcohols to the corresponding carbonyl products using molecular oxygen is achieved over a simple and easily recyclable 1% Pd/MgO impregnated heterogeneous catalyst in the presence of trifluorotoluene. A variety of activated and non-activated alcohols are effectively oxidized without the use of any additives under relatively mild reaction conditions. Other supported Pd catalysts such as Pd/Hydrotalcite (HT), Pd/Al2O3, Pd/SiO2 and Pd/Zeolite-β are also studied for comparison. Pd/HT also shows a comparable oxidation activity to Pd/MgO whereas other supported catalysts were not found to be active for this reaction under the conditions studied. A mechanism of the reaction is also outlined.