Cu and boron doped carbon nitride for highly selective oxidation of toluene to benzaldehyde

Abstract

A novel Cu and boron doped graphitic carbon nitride catalyst (Cu-CNB) was synthesized using cheap precursors and systematically characterized. The selective oxidation of toluene proceeded very smoothly over the catalyst at 70 °C using tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as the oxidant to exclusively afford benzaldehyde. The catalyst can be used for at least five cycles without decrease in activity and selectivity.