A polymer derived bubble templates strategy towards perovskite oxides with tunable pore structure and rich surface-active sites for boosting aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol

Porous perovskite metal oxides (PPMOs) have emerged as promising candidates for efficient catalysts in fine chemical engineering due to their flexible crystal structures and tunable surface chemical properties. However, the conventional high temperature calcination process required for crystallization frequently leads to collapse of pore structure, limiting the practical application of PPMOs. Herein, we propose a facile and general polymer derived bubble templates strategy to synthesize a series of PPMOs, including single-component PPMOs (e.g., LaMnO₃, LaFeO₃, LaCoO₃, PrMnO₃, and NdMnO₃) and multiple-component PPMOs (e.g., LaCo_xMn_1−xO₃ (x = 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3)) with tunable pore structure. The pore architectures (macropores, hierarchically meso/macropores, and mesopores), pore sizes, and specific surface areas (14–40 m²·g⁻¹) of the samples can be precisely tailored by adjusting the sizes of bubble templates. The hierarchically meso/macroporous LaMnO₃ features multiple structural advantages, including well-defined hierarchical porous architecture, high specific surface area, and abundant oxygen vacancies, and exhibits a remarkable catalytic performance in oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde, with conversion and selectivity of 99% and 99%, respectively. This work not only provides a scalable and versatile pathway for fabricating advanced porous materials but also offers new perspectives for their application in diverse catalytic processes.