Nitrogen and fluorine co-doped mesoporous carbon as an efficient metal-free catalyst for selective oxidation of 2-methylnaphthalene

Liquid phase oxidation of 2-methylnaphthalene (2-MN) is a common synthetic route for the preparation of 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (2-MNQ). Metal-free carbon materials doped with heteroatoms have been proven to have excellent catalytic potential in various reaction fields. In this paper, the catalytic performance of N, F co-doped benzoxazine carbon materials for the selective oxidation of 2-MN was studied. The results show that the catalyst obtained at a carbonization temperature of 700 degrees C has the best catalytic performance. Under optimized conditions, the 2-MN conversion is 97.9%, and the 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone selectivity is 84.3%. In addition, this catalyst still exhibits good catalytic activity after five cycles. Based on the experimental and characterization results, graphitic nitrogen species play a key role in the catalytic reaction and there is an almost linear relationship between the F content and the selectivity of 2-MNQ. This work provides a greener and more efficient method for the preparation of 2-MNQ with N/F co-doped mesoporous carbon.