Synthesis and catalytic activity of organic-inorganic hybrid catalysts coordinated with cobalt(II) ions for aerobic epoxidation of styrene

摘要

New organic-inorganic hybrid materials (HM) containing 3-mercaptopropyl groups (-(CH2)(3)-SH) have been synthesized through a dry gel conversion (DGC) route. The complex catalyst Co-HM was prepared through a simple coordination of -SH with cobalt(II) ions, which was firstly applied in the aerobic epoxidation of alkenes to obtain good results. Co-HM-50 exhibited the highest activity for the epoxidation of styrene with air to achieve 95.8 mol% of conversion with the epoxide selectivity of 89.2%. Recycling and control tests showed high durability and heterogeneity of Co-HM-50 as a heterogeneous catalyst. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.