Preparation of Mesoporous Mn_0.5Fe_0.5O_x Particles and Their Application in the Oxidative Coupling Reaction of Alcohols with Amines

It is of great significance to develop an inexpensive and efficient catalyst to enhance the catalytic activity of oxidation coupling of alcohols with amines to imine. In this research, a series of manganese-iron bimetallic oxide catalysts have been prepared by a simple co-precipitation method, which were applied to the catalytic reaction of oxidation coupling of benzyl methanol with aniline to N-benzylideneaniline. The effects of different Fe/Mn feed ratios on the catalytic activity of the products have been explored. The Mn_0.5Fe_0.5O_x sample with a Fe/Mn feed ratio of 1:1 demonstrated the best catalytic activity, giving an aniline conversion rate of 74.7%, 99.9% selectivity and 74.6% yield of N-benzylidene, respectively. Through a variety of characterizations, Mn_0.5Fe_0.5O_x exhibited rich mesoporous structure and surface adsorbed oxygen species, as well as excellent oxidation ability. The high-efficiency catalyst synthesized in this work has great application potential in the preparation of imines by oxidation coupling of alcohols with amines.