Abstract: Amorphous Mn-Ce-O synthesized by a redox- precipitation method was used as a highly efficient and recyclable catalyst for the selective oxidation of aromatic alcohols in the presence of molecular oxygen. The catalytic activity of Mn-Ce-O with n(Mn)/n(Ce) = 10/1 was the highest. The benzyl alcohol conversion reached 96.6%, and the mass specific activity was 19.3 mmol/(g•h).

Key words: manganese, cerium, composite oxide, aromatic alcohol, selective oxidation, molecular oxygen