Tailoring the Catalytic Performance of Sol–Gel‐Encapsulated Tetra‐n‐propylammonium Perruthenate (TPAP) in Aerobic Oxidation of Alcohols

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Abstract
Sol–gel nanohybrid silica particles organically modified and doped with the ruthenium species tetra-n-propylammonium perruthenate (TPAP) are highly efficient catalysts for the selective oxidation of alcohols to carbonyl groups with O2 at low pressure in toluene. The materials are easily prepared by a one-step sol–gel process, and their catalytic performance can be optimised by tailoring the conditions of their synthesis by hydrolytic co-polycondensation of tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) and alkyltrimethoxysilanes R-Si(OMe)3 in the presence of TPAP. Eventually, heterogeneous catalysts considerably more active than the unsupported perruthenate were obtained, while also being leach-proof and recyclable. The correlation between the materials' activity, surface polarity and textural properties suggests valuable information on the chemical behaviour of sol–gel catalytic materials in oxidation catalysis; this is of interest in view of the importance of efficient solid catalysts for the selective oxidation of alcohols with O2.