Polyoxotungstate ([PW11O39]7-) immobilized on mesoporous polymer for selective liquid-phase oxidation of alcohols using H2O2.

Abstract

Selective oxidation of alcohols is an attractive organic transformation and has received tremendous attention from the scientific community over the years. Herein, a mesoporous polymer (MP) was synthesized by a template-free solvothermal approach. The surface of the MP was functionalized with quaternary ammonium groups and polyoxotungstate anion (PW11O397−) was subsequently supported on the MP as a counter anion to the ammonium cation by a simple ion-exchange procedure. The structure of PW11 and PW4 complexes was confirmed by 31P NMR and FTIR analysis. The surface properties of all the catalysts synthesized were explored by various characterization techniques such as nitrogen sorption, TGA, contact angle measurement, and ICP-OES analysis. The synthesized PW11/MP catalysts were employed for selective oxidation of alcohols. Among the various PW11 supported catalysts, PW11/MP (80 : 20) demonstrated excellent catalytic activity for the oxidation of alcohols using aqueous H2O2. The PW11/MP (80 : 20) catalyst showed good catalytic activity for oxidation of a wide range of alcohols including substituted, heterocyclic and secondary alcohols. The superior catalytic activity of PW11/MP (80 : 20) is attributed to an optimum balance in the hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity in the mesoporous environment, better catalyst wettability, and enrichment of reactants in the catalytic active sites.