Copper (II) supported on a post-modified Magnetic pectin Fe3O4@Pectin~Imidazole~SO3H-Cu(II): An efficient biopolymer-based catalyst for selective oxidation of alcohols with aqueous TBHP

Designing a catalyst that combines the activity, selectivity, simple recovery, and follows the green chemistry instructions is of great importance. In the present study, Fe3O4@Pectin~Imidazole~SO3H-Cu(II) was synthesized as an efficient and biopolymer-based magnetic catalyst for the oxidation of benzyl alcohols to aldehydes using tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as an oxidant under solvent-free conditions. The catalyst was characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Powder X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM), Field Emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) atomic emission spectroscopy. The results indicated that our catalyst was quite active in oxidizing the benzyl alcohols to their corresponding aldehydes in the presence of TBHP. The efficiency with low catalyst loading, convenient work-up, isolation of pure products, use of inexpensive metal instead of precious metals, solvent-free condition, use of eco-friendly support, and also the sustainability of catalyst up to at least 5 consecutive runs without a special drop-in activity are some of the remarkable advantages of this protocol.