Vanadium Oxide-Nitride Composites for Catalytic Oxidative C-C Bond Cleavage of Cyclohexanol into Lactones with Dioxygen

Selective catalytic oxidative C-C bond cleavage with dioxygen is useful and challenging to prepare oxygenated fine chemicals. Herein we fabricated vanadium oxide-nitride composites as catalysts via a facile thermal treatment process, and the surface composition could be tuned by the thermal treatment temperature, which could affect catalytic oxidation of cyclohexanol significantly. By using such a V-N-C composite prepared at 500 degrees C, cyclohexanol could be selectively oxidized with dioxygen into lactones including delta-valerolactone and gamma-butyrolactone, rather than common dicarboxylic acids. Cyclohexanone and 2-cyclohexen-1-one were verified as two key intermediates. V3+ species in the form of vanadium nitride and vanadium (III) oxide were detected, and well dispersed on amorphous carbon with a low degree of graphitization. These findings will provide a reference for catalytic oxidative C-C bond cleavage with molecular oxygen under mild reaction conditions.