Preparation of Ordered Mesoporous Polypyrrole/Carbon Composite via Nanocasting Method and Its Application as a New Catalyst Support for Aerobic Oxidation of Alcohols

Recently, preparation of composite materials, because of combining the properties of the individual components and using the advantage of their synergistic effects, have attracted the attention of researchers in both academy and industry. Among diverse materials, carbon materials, due to the unique structure and remarkable mechanical, electrical, thermal, optical and catalytic properties, have widely been studied as a second phase to create high performance composites. In spite of performing numerous studies in these field, preparation of carbon/polymer composites with controlled meso-structure in an easy and cost-effective way and use of them in organic transformation are still the live challenges. In this regard, we have presented a novel example of preparation of ordered mesoporous carbon/polypyrrole composite by nanocasting process, combining the impregnation–carbonization of carbon precursor and in situ polymerization process. Characterization of structure and morphology of the composite, indicated a material with the ordered mesoporous structure, high specific surface areas, uniform pore size distributions and high stability. To take advantage of this mesoporous structure possessing the precious properties in organic transformations, the performance of this material was evaluated as an extraordinary support for immobilization and stabilization of metal nanoparticles and investigation of that in aerobic oxidation of alcohols to the corresponding carbonyl compounds with O2 as the green oxidant in the aqueous medium. High catalytic performance of the catalyst in oxidation of different primary and secondary alcohols, using of water as a green solvent, easy recovery and considerable reusability without significant loss of performance are some advantages of this article.