Simple and green oxidation of cyclohexene to adipic acid with an efficient and durable silica-functionalized ammonium tungstate catalyst

• A silica-functionalized ammonium tungstate catalyst was prepared
• Green oxidation of cyclohexene to adipic acid with 30% H2O2
• Replacement of harmful phase transfer catalyst and prevention of N2O emission
• Easily recoverable and reusable for 10 reaction runs

A novel silica-functionalized ammonium tungstate interphase catalyst has been reported as a non-nitric acid route for adipic acid production from one-pot oxidative cleavage of 30% hydrogen peroxide and catalytic amounts of p-toluenesulfonic acid (PTSA). The catalyst has been simply prepared by commercially available starting material. The structure of the catalyst has been investigated using FT-IR spectroscopy, atomic absorption, TEM, SEM and XRD analysis. The catalyst has shown good to high activity even up to 10 runs of reaction. Simple preparation of the catalyst, avoids using harmful phase transfer catalyst (PTC) and/or chlorinated additives are among the other benefits of this work.

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