Solvent–Free Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol Over Mechanochemically Prepared Fe 3 BO 6 –CeO 2 Catalyst

A series of Fe 3 BO 6 –xCeO 2 (x = 1, 5, 10, 20% by mole) mixtures was prepared via ball-milling process. The physicochemical properties of the mixtures have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectra, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy, and N 2 Adsorption–Desorption techniques. The results showed that CeO 2 was well dispersed in the iron borate nano-particulate matrix after grinding. The oxidation of benzyl alcohol was investigated using the prepared catalysts. The reaction was carried out in a stirred reactor under reflux using liquid benzyl alcohol in the presence of hydrogen peroxide oxidant, focusing on the conversion and selectivity towards benzaldehyde. Optimization studies were carried out for the solvent type, temperature, reaction time, benzyl alcohol/catalyst ratio, and catalyst composition parameters. It was observed that conversion increased with CeO 2 addition up to a certain molar percentage but decreased again on further addition. 34.3% conversion and 81.5% benzaldehyde selectivity were reached after 4 h of reaction at 90 °C in a solvent-free environment with the catalyst containing 5% CeO 2 . The catalyst was found to be stable when used under these conditions, and there was a slight decrease in its activity after three recycles. Graphical Abstract