Oxidation of benzothiophene by tert-butyl hydroperoxide over vanadia–alumina catalyst: An FT-IR study at the vapour–solid interface

A-site defective La2-xCuO4 perovskite-type oxides for efficient oxidation of cyclohexylbenzene

Phenol production through the oxidation of cyclohexylbenzene (CHB) and the subsequent decomposition of tertiary hydroperoxide has attracted more and more attention. In this study, defective La2-xCuO4 perovskite-type oxide catalysts with tunable A-site deficient structures and abundant surface oxygen vacancies were developed for the liquid phase oxidation of CHB to produce cyclohexylbenzene-1-hydroperoxide (CHBHP). By tuning the amount of A-site La ions in the perovskite structure, more surface oxygen vacancies and Cu+ species were formed in catalysts. The A-site-deficient La1.9CuO4 catalyst achieved significant catalytic efficiency along with a high CHBHP yield of 27.6% at 48.6% CHB conversion under reaction conditions (i.e., 120 °C and 12 h), outperforming those of other transition metal-based catalysts previously reported in the literature. A series of structural characterization methods and catalytic reactions highlighted the crucial roles of surface oxygen vacancies and metal La and Cu ions in the oxidation process. It was revealed that metal ions favored CHB adsorption and activation, while surface oxygen vacancies facilitated the creation of active adsorbed oxygen species. The present study offers an opportunity for the future design of new high-efficiency heterogeneous catalyst systems for CHB oxidation to obtain phenol.

Ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization of bunker-C oil using tert-butyl hydroperoxide

This work investigated the ultrasonic assisted oxidative desulfurization of bunker-C oil with TBHP/MoO3 system. The operational parameters for the desulfurization procedure such as ultrasonic irradiation time, ultrasonic wave amplitude, catalyst initial concentration and oxidation agent initial concentration were studied. The experimental results show that the present oxidation system was very efficient for the desulfurization of bunker-C oil and ~35% sulfur was removed which was dependent on operational parameters. The application of ultrasonic irradiation allowed sulfur removal in a shorter time. The stronger the solvent polarity is, the higher the sulfur removal rate, but the recovery rate of oil is lower. The sulfur compounds in bunker-C oil reacted with TBHP to produce corresponding sulfoxide, and further oxidation produced the corresponding sulfone.