β-pinene oxidation by hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by modified niobium-MCM

Although solid niobium has a high surface area, its high Lewis and Brønsted acidity is a drawback that always compromises its catalytic performance in oxidation reactions. In this work, treating the niobium catalyst with hydrogen peroxide circumvents this disadvantage and results in a significant increase in the selectivity of the oxidation of β-pinene. In addition, the efficiency of the niobium catalysts supported on MCM was investigated. Nb-MCM//H2O2 and Nb-MCM were the most active catalysts. Good selectivity of up to 85% at a 93–97% substrate conversion has been achieved. The catalyst can easily be recovered and reused several times without loss in activity.

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► It was produced a modified niobia with high catalytic capacity for β-pinene oxidation using hydrogen peroxide.
► β-pinene was efficiently converted into the allylic oxidation products in all reactions.
► The Nb-MCM catalyst can easily be recovered and reused several times.