Some catalytic characteristics of compositional catalysts of immobilized N-hydroxyphthalimide and metal salts in aerobic oxidation of 1-phenylethanol

N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI) was synchronously synthesized and immobilized on crosslinked polystyrene (CPS) microspheres via a short-cut of polymer reactions, obtaining the heterogenous catalyst. Some compositional catalysts were constituted by CPS-NHPI microspheres and metal salts, and they were used in the oxidation reactions of 1-phenylethanol with molecular oxygen as oxidant. Among four co-catalysts, vanadyl acetacetonate (VO(acac) 2 ), Co(OAc) 2 , CoCl 2 and Mn(OAc) 2 , the catalytic activity of VO(acac) 2 is the best although cobalt and manganese salts are conventional co-catalysts of NHPI. Under mild conditions, CPS-NHPI microspheres in combination with VO(acac) 2 can transform selectively 1-phenylethanol into acethenone with a conversion of 40%.