Review of Cerium-based Catalysts and Eco-Friendly Oxidants for Chlorine-Free Benzaldehyde Production via Selective Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol

This review article describes the designing and aptness of diverse range of cerium-based catalysts for the oxidation of benzyl alcohols (Bz-OLs) in producing exclusively benzaldehydes (Bz-ALs) in the presence of eco-friendly oxidants. The discussion highlights the significance of surface and structural properties inherent to cerium-based catalysts, including the abundance of oxygen vacancies, the redox properties of Ce3+/Ce4+ couple, their acid-base characteristics and morphology influence, which play crucial roles in substrate adsorption, reorganization of bonding between substrate and oxidant in promoting selective oxidation reactions. The consolidated data tables (1-4) comprising the best conditions optimized with various ceria based heterogeneous reported so far between the years 2019-2024 is included in the following sections to assess the catalyst design and performance.