Fe3O4/g-C3N4-CeOx fabricated by in situ-reduction towards solvent-free oxidation of styrene to benzaldehyde

Abstract Fe and Ce incorporated graphic carbon nitride Fe-Ce/g-C3N4 was fabricated with Fe(NO3)3, (NH4)4Ce (SO4)4 and g-C3N4 as precursors and its surface composition and structure was identified by XRD, SEM, TEM, FT-IR, XPS, ICP-OES and N2 adsorption-desorption approach. The results demonstrated that the hybrid composite was constituted with Fe3O4 supported on CeOx, where Fe3O4 crystals were formed by in situ reduction of Fe 3+ through produced NH3 of g-C3N4 decomposition. The hybrid composite exhibited an efficiently catalytic performance for solvent-free oxidation of styrene to benzaldehyde using H2O2 oxidant with 92% conversion and 70.0% selectivity. The dependence of the catalytic activity on the catalyst preparation conditions and reaction conditions were explored and the reusability of the catalyst was discussed.