The Epoxidation of C5 - C10 Alkenes with Hydrogen Peroxide Catalyzed by Mo Compounds in Two-phase Solvents

Article abstract of DOI:10.1246/bcsj.63.1559

The epoxidation of terminal alkenes such as 1-heptene, 1-octene, 1-decene, styrene (1), α-methylstyrene, and allyl chloride, and inner alkenes such as α-pinene, cyclopentene, cyclohexene (2) and cyclooctene was carried out with aqueous 60percent hydrogen peroxide in the presence of molybdenum blue (Mob)-bis(tributyltin) oxide (3) using a two-phase solvent of chloroform-water at 25 deg C.All these olefins gave epoxides in 98 to 48percent yields.In the case of 1 and 2, the addition of ammonia greatly increased the yields of epoxides; the yield reached 78percent and 83percent, respectively, after 7 h.Various kinds of amines and organotin compounds were examined as co-catalysts and their effects were discussed.