Liquid-phase oxidation of alkanes with molecular oxygen catalyzed by high valent iron-based perovskite.

Hexagonal BaFeO3-δ containing high valent iron species acted as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the aerobic oxidation of alkanes without the need for additives. The activity of BaFeO3-δ was much higher than that of typical Fe3+/Fe2+-containing iron oxide-based catalysts, and the recovered catalyst could be reused without significant loss of catalytic performance.