Abstract: Oxidation of various alcohols (benzyl alcohol, 1-phenylethanol, and cyclohexanol) was studied over vanadium catalysts using tert-butyl hydroperoxide as an oxidant. Vanadium complexes with catecholate or pyrazine 2-carboxylate ligands were prepared and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. The effect of solvent was investigated. It was found that when the oxidation reaction was performed in toluene solvent, benzyl alcohol was oxidized to benzaldehyde without any overoxidation to benzoic acid; on the contrary, in acetonitrile solvent, both benzaldehyde and benzoic acid were formed. The catalytic activity of some vanadium phosphorus oxides was also compared, and the results showed that higher product yields were obtained when using acetonitrile as the solvent than using toluene.

Key words: vanadium catalyst, alcohol, tert-butyl hydroperoxide, oxidation