Novel urea-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of tetrametallic Co6Fe4Mo12Bi1.5Ox phase for the selective oxidation of tert-butyl alcohol to methacrolein

Co 6 Fe 4 Mo 12 Bi 1.5 O x phase has been successfully synthesized via a novel urea-assisted hydrothermal process, wherein urea as an assistant reagent plays an important role on the homogeneous dispersion of the metal elements in the obtained mixed solution. The resulted catalyst was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. These results suggest that the catalyst is mainly a single phase. Compared with the common multiphase metal oxides, the single Co 6 Fe 4 Mo 12 Bi 1.5 O x phase exhibits remarkable activity in selective oxidation of tert-butyl alcohol to methacrolein by synergistic effects of two active sites at a nano level in the single phase system.