Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Supported ……. Maradur et al. Bull. Catal. Soc. India, 6 (2007) 42-49. 42 ------------------------------------- ﾅ Corresponding author e-mail: gsgokavi@indiatimes.com † Present address: Solid State and Catalysis Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, Powai, Mumabi 400 076. ‡ On lien from Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, Powai, Mumabi 400 076. E-mail: selvam@iitb.ac.in; selvam@iitm.ac.in Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Supported 12-Tungstocobaltate (II) as a Novel Heterogeneous Catalyst for Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohols Sanjeev P. Maradur † and Gavisiddappa S. Gokavi ﾅ Kinetics and Catalysis Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Shivaji University, Kolhapur 416 004 Parasuraman Selvam ‡ National Centre for Catalysis Research, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology−Madras, Chennai 400 076 [Received 14th January 2007] Abstract: In this paper, selective oxidation of alcohols to the corresponding carbonyl products using Oxone ® has been investigated on poly(vinyl alcohol) supported 12-tungstocobaltate (II), a heterogeneous catalyst. Variety of activated and non-activated alcohols has been effectively oxidized under relatively mild reaction conditions. R 1 R 2 CH 2 OH Co II W 12 O 40 6- Oxone P R 1 R 2 CHO 50% aq.acetonitrile 1. INTRODUCTION Organic-inorganic hybrid materials have many distinct advantages over the conventional materials. Development of heterogeneous catalysts for the fine chemicals synthesis has recently become a major area of research in view of the advantages like simplified recovery and reusability of these materials over the homogeneous systems [1,2]. Majority of catalysts are based on silica, since its (chemical and thermal) stability, high surface area, good accessibility and organic groups can be robustly anchored to the surface to provide catalytic centers. However, it has limited stability in aqueous media since it cannot easily form membranes. Variety of polystyrene-based resins has been used as solid phase catalyst supports for organic synthesis, absorption and separation of chemicals [3,4]. Polystyrene resins are rather hydrophobic and hence, their applications in aqueous media are limited, whereas hydrophilic polymers possess