Preparation, characterization, and catalytic application of nano Ag/ZnO in the oxidation of benzylic C–H bonds in sustainable media

Nano Ag/ZnO is successfully synthesized by a new simple and low cost method employing Zn(NO3)2·6H2O, AgNO3, and urea. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), adsorption/desorption porosimetry (BET) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the structure and morphology of the catalyst. The amount of Ag loading on ZnO (9.276 × 10−5, 7.391 × 10−5, 3.632 × 10−5, and 3.286 × 10−5 mol%) was determined by induced coupled plasma (ICP). The resulting ZnO-supported Ag nanoparticles efficiently catalyzed the oxidation reactions of alkyl-substituted benzenes with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as a cheap and environmentally friendly oxidant under solvent-free conditions. This catalytic reaction gave good to excellent yield of products by using mild reaction conditions and no additives were employed during the reaction.