Green oxidation of olefins and methyl phenyl sulfide with hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by an oxovanadium(IV) Schiff base complex encapsulated in the nanopores of zeolite-Y

Abstract

Oxovanadium(IV) complex of a Schiff base ligand derived from 2,4-dihydroxyacetophenone and 2,2′-dimethylpropanediamine has been encapsulated in the nanopores of zeolite-Y by flexible ligand method and characterized by metal analysis, IR spectroscopic studies and X-ray diffraction patterns. The encapsulated complex [VOL-Y] catalyzes the oxidation of various olefins and methyl phenyl sulfide using hydrogen peroxide as a green oxidant in good yield. Under the optimized reaction conditions, in the presence of VOL-Y, 86 % conversion of cyclooctene with 100 % selectivity for epoxide and 51 % conversion for methyl phenyl sulfide with 92 % selectivity for sulfone were obtained.