Preparation, characterization and catalytic activity of CoFe2O4 nanoparticles as a magnetically recoverable catalyst for selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde and reduction of organic dyes.

The CoFe2O4 nanoparticles (NPs) performance was studied in the oxidation of benzyl alcohol (BzOH) to benzaldehyde (BzH) with hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant under solvent-free conditions. The influences of reaction conditions like the amount of catalyst, the molar ratio of H2O2:BzOH, reaction temperature and times on the oxidation of BzOH by using CoFe2O4 NPs were investigated in details. Under optimum conditions, excellent result, >99% conversation of BzOH to BzH as the only product, was obtained. The nanocatalyst was also used for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), Congo red (CR), Methylene blue (MB) in water at room temperature. The magnetic properties of the catalyst provided a convenient and easy route for the separation of the catalyst from the reaction mixture by an external bar magnet. No obvious loss of activity was observed when the spent catalyst reused in three consecutive runs.