Development of a polymer embedded reusable heterogeneous oxovanadium(IV) catalyst for selective oxidation of aromatic alkanes and alkenes using green oxidant

Abstract

A new heterogeneous polymer supported solid phase oxovanadium(IV) catalyst was synthesized successfully. The designed catalyst furnished excellent results in the oxidation reactions of various aromatic alkanes, e.g. toluene, para-xylene, mesitylene. The polymer supported vanadium complex was proved also an efficient catalyst for the oxidation of aromatic alkenes, like substituted styrenes, trans-stilbene, etc. under mild reaction conditions. The supported catalyst was nicely elucidated by SEM-EDAX, TGA, FT-IR and UV–Vis spectral analysis. The catalytic activity was tested in the presence of an environment-friendly oxidant, 30% aqueous H2O2 during the oxidation of broad range of substrates. Another important fact is that the designed oxovanadium(IV) catalyst is heterogeneous in nature. Moreover, the newly synthesized oxovanadium(IV) complex exhibited a notable recoverability and it could be recycled up to six runs devoid of any prominent reduction in catalytic behavior.