Calcined vanadium phosphorus oxide (VPO) prepared by an organic method is found to be an active and effective catalyst for the oxidation of various alkanes such as cyclohexane, n-hexane and cycloheptane in acetonitrile solvent using the environmentally benign oxidant, tert-butyl hydroperoxide, where the oxidation mechanism is believed to involve a reversible V4+/V5+ redox cycle. This heterogeneous catalyst at the end of the reaction is easily separated by the least cost of the product. This reaction is investigated in a polar and nonpolar solvent with different dielectric constant. Cobalt metal is also used as a catalyst enhancer and TBHP as an oxidizing agent. After catalytic tests and determining the best catalyst and ideal amount of cobalt percent improvement, detection and analysis will be done by analyzing XRD, SEM, TGA, IR.
