Mechanistic Insight into the Catalytic Oxidation of Cyclohexane over Carbon Nanotubes: Kinetic and In Situ Spectroscopic Evidence |
| |
| Authors: | Xixian Yang Dr Hongjuan Wang Jing Li Dr Wenxu Zheng Dr Rong Xiang Prof Zikang Tang Prof Hao Yu Prof Feng Peng |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Department of Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640 (P.R. China), Fax: (+86)?20‐87114916;2. Department of Applied Chemistry, College of Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642 (P.R. China);3. School of Physics and Engineering, Sun Yat‐Sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (P.R. China) |
| |
| Abstract: | As some of the most interesting metal‐free catalysts, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and other carbon‐based nanomaterials show great promise for some important chemical reactions, such as the selective oxidation of cyclohexane (C6H12). Due to the lack of fundamental understanding of carbon catalysis in liquid‐phase reactions, we have sought to unravel the role of CNTs in the catalytic oxidation of C6H12 through a combination of kinetic analysis, in situ spectroscopy, and density functional theory. The catalytic effect of CNTs originates from a weak interaction between radicals and their graphene skeletons, which confines the radicals around their surfaces. This, in turn, enhances the electron‐transfer catalysis of peroxides to yield the corresponding alcohol and ketone. |
| |
| Keywords: | carbon nanotubes charge transfer cyclohexane oxidation in situ spectroscopy reaction mechanisms |
|
|
