Oxidation and isomerization of cyclohexane catalyzed by SO42-/Fe2O3-CoO under mild condition

SO42-/Fe2O3-CoO solid catalyst was prepared and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transfer infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Its catalytic activities in oxidation and isomerization of cyclohexane in air under mild condition were studied by UV, GC/MS and XPS. The results suggested that isomerization and oxidation of cyclohexane under mild conditions can synchronously performed and the catalytic activity of the catalyst can be improved by promotion of Co element into the sulfated iron. The high catalytic activities of catalysts may be related to the shift of the asymmetric stretching frequency of the S=O bonds of sulfate species. Finally, the possible mechanism was also proposed