Magnesium oxide has wide applications in the detection and remediation of chemical waste and warfare agents [1], is addi- tive in heavy fuel oils [2] and reflecting and antireflecting coatings [3], and is used in superconducting and ferroelectric thin films as the substrate [4–6]. In the field of catalysis, magnesium oxide has promising applications as both catalyst and catalyst support in many organic reactions [7–11].