Electro-Fenton process: A sustainable reagent for selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol

The Electro-Fenton method was employed for the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde by two-phase electrolysis in the research. The electrolysis was performed using an undivided cell with a catalytic amount of H₂O₂ and sacrificial Fe electrodes at 50 mA/cm² in an acidic medium. To optimize the efficiency of the Electro-Fenton process for benzaldehyde synthesis, the parameters, such as pH, concentrations of H₂O_2, and temperature, were investigated. Thereby, the optimal pH for the Electro-Fenton reaction was found to be around 3.0, as lower pH conditions favour the generation of hydroxyl radicals. The in-situ generated ^●OH from electrochemical Fenton's process exhibited high reactivity enabling efficient oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde with a 90 % conversion efficiency. These results demonstrate that the traditional Fenton process, particularly when combined with an electrochemical method, provides a robust method for the oxidation of aromatic alcohols.