Structural, Optical and Catalytic Properties of CoAl₂O_{4 Toward Liquid Phase Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol}

A comparative study of structural, optical and CoAl₂O₄ nanoparticles using a liquid phase catalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohol has been reported in this paper. Cobalt aluminate (CoAl₂O₄) nano and microstructures were synthesized by both hydrothermal method and conventional method by using Coriandrum sativum leaf extract. Using of Coriandrum sativum leaf extract extract simplifies the process and provides an alternative process for a simple and economical synthesis of cobalt aluminate. Synthesized cobalt aluminate powder was characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis, (EDX), nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and photoluminescence (PL) studies. CoAl₂O₄ prepared by microwave method was found to possess a higher surface area, and lower crystallite size, than the one prepared by conventional method, which in turn lead to the improved performance of it towards the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde.