Mesoporous Assembled Mn3 O4 Nanoparticle Networks as Efficient Catalysts for Selective Oxidation of Alkenes and Aryl Alkanes

Euaggelia Skliri; Stelios Papadogiorgakis; Ioannis N Lykakis; Gerasimos S Armatas

doi:10.1002/cplu.201600460

Mesoporous Assembled Mn₃ O₄ Nanoparticle Networks as Efficient Catalysts for Selective Oxidation of Alkenes and Aryl Alkanes

Chempluschem. 2017 Jan;82(1):136-143. doi: 10.1002/cplu.201600460. Epub 2016 Oct 31.

Authors

Euaggelia Skliri¹, Stelios Papadogiorgakis¹, Ioannis N Lykakis², Gerasimos S Armatas¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete, Heraklion, 71003, Greece.
² Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece.

PMID: 31961509
DOI: 10.1002/cplu.201600460

Abstract

The design of nanoscale materials has been considered important for enhancing their surface properties for catalysis. Metal oxide nanoparticles have a large number of exposed surface active sites, but they suffer from low reactivity and poor stability resulting from excessive aggregation into less active microscopic structures. Herein, the synthesis of mesoporous Mn₃ O₄ nanoparticle assemblies by polymer-assisted self-assembly is presented and their catalytic activity is demonstrated in the oxidation of various saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons, including aromatic alkenes and aryl alkanes, in the presence of tert-butyl hydroperoxide as a mild oxidant. It is also shown through comparative studies that the high catalytic activity and stability of these Mn₃ O₄ assemblies arise from the unique three-dimensional open-pore structure, high internal surface area (90 m² g^-1 ) and uniform mesopores (≈6.6 nm in size).

Keywords: alkenes; heterogeneous catalysis; manganese; mesoporous materials; nanoparticles.