Beyond bulk oxide: Surface peroxo-driven green oxidation of benzyl alcohol over copper oxide nano catalysts.

: This work investigates the integration of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis using copper peroxide nanoparticles (CPNPs) to enhance the efficiency of benzyl alcohol oxidation in an aqueous medium at elevated pH. The aqueous basic catalytic system CuSO 4 .5H 2 O / S 2 O 8 -2 / KOH (pH = 9) is examined for the catalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohol, and para substituted benzyl alcohol to their respective acids aldehyde at ambient temperature. An in-depth investigation of the system elucidates the dual catalytic functions of copper peroxide nanoparticles, wherein both homogeneous and heterogeneous mechanisms influence reaction kinetics and selectivity. Copper peroxide nanoparticles (CPNPs) are separated and characterised using various techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), FTIR spectra, and BFT analysis. The results confirmed the formation of copper peroxide nano semi-flake-like particles with an average size of 17 nm. BET analysis revealed a high surface area (49.61 m 2 /g), while BJH analysis confirmed the mesoporous nature, with a pore radius of 1.92 nm and a total pore volume of 0.1475 cc/g. This significantly enhanced the catalytic surface properties, increasing the number of active sites available on CPNP heterogeneous catalysts for benzaldehyde preparation.