Highly efficient and expeditious PdO/SBA-15 catalysts for allylic oxidation of cyclohexene to cyclohexenone

A series of four PdO/SBA-15 catalysts with 1, 2, 4, 5% (by weight) loading of PdO have been prepared by a conventional impregnation method and are characterized by N2-adsorption, low-angle and wide-angle XRD, XPS and TEM techniques. The catalysts exhibited very high conversion of cyclohexene and high selectivity of cyclohexenone with 70% t-BuOOH in CH3CN. The structural and textural characteristics of catalysts play a crucial role in high conversion and selectivity.