Aerobic Oxidation of 2-Methoxy-4-methylphenol to Vanillin Catalyzed by Cobalt/NaOH: Identification of CoOx(OH)y Nanoparticles as the True Catalyst

An investigation of aerobic oxidation of 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol to vanillin catalyzed by a number of cobalt salts, complexes, oxides, and hydroxides in alkaline solutions is reported. A good yield of vanillin (90%) was obtained when CoCl2 was used as the catalyst, while a poor yield (6%) was obtained with Co3O4. Unexpectedly, however, the Co3O4 catalytic activity was restored after heating in an alcoholic solution of NaOH for 24 h, producing a good yield of vanillin (85%). The recovered catalytic activity of Co3O4 indicated a conversion of inactivated heterogeneous particles to activated particles. In addition, precipitates were generated when “homogeneous” CoCl2 was employed as a catalyst, making us wonder about the true nature of the catalyst in this reaction. A series of experiments are described, including kinetic studies, filtration tests, centrifugation tests, dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction, for the investi...