Recyclable Pd-contained perovskite catalyst synthesized by a low temperature hydrothermal method for aerobic alcohol oxidation

We successfully prepared Pd-containing perovskite strontium titanate (Pd-STO) by a relatively low-temperature hydrothermal method (i.e., 373 K) without posterior calcination. The particle size and porosity of the STO perovskite could be tuned by changing the molar ratio of H2O/NH3 (e.g., 5.0, 12.5 and 25.0) during the preparation of the amorphous titania sources. The mesoporous contained Pd-STO(12.5) showed superior catalytic performance compared to that of the other Pd-STO(x) (x = H2O/NH3) perovskites for alcohol oxidation with molecular oxygen. Both the refluxing of the non-polar solvents and addition of molecular sieves enhanced the reaction yield significantly. The Pd-incorporated perovskite (Pd-STO) showed better recyclability compared with that of the impregnated perovskite (imp-Pd/STO).