Graphene oxide–iridium nanocatalyst for the transformation of benzylic alcohols into carbonyl compounds

A catalyst constructed from graphene oxide and iridium chloride exhibited high activity and reliability for the selective transformation of benzylic alcohols into aromatic aldehydes or ketones. Instead of thermal reaction, the transformation was performed under ultrasonication, a green process with low byproduct, high atomic yield and high selectivity. Experimental data obtained from spherical-aberration corrected field emission TEM (ULTRA-HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectra confirm the nanostructure of the title complex. Noticeably, the activity and selectivity for the transformation of benzylic alcohols remained unchanged within 25 catalytic cycles. The average turn over frequency is higher than 5000 h(−1), while the total turnover number (TON) is more than one hundred thousand, making it a high greenness and eco-friendly process for alcohol oxidation.