Spinel ZnMn2O4 hollow nanospheres as efficient catalyst for imine synthesis at near room temperature

Abstract

A thermal-driven contraction process can synthesize ZnMn2O4 spinel hollow nanospheres. Material characterizations and theoretical calculations reveal that incorporating oxyphilic Zn into Mn5O8 can induce abundant highly accessible Mn3+ and oxygen vacancies active sites and then boost O2 adsorption-activation. Hence, ZnMn2O4 as novel catalyst enables efficient oxidative coupling of primary alcohols and amines in air at 30 °C, obviously outperforming those reported transition metal oxide catalysts.