Styrene epoxidation over Ag-γ-ZrP catalyst prepared by ion-exchange

A hybrid complex Zr(PO4)(AgHPO4) was prepared by ion-exchange and was determined using elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and other instruments. Its catalytic activity was examined on the oxidation of styrene using t-butylhydroperoxide (TBHP) as oxidant under argon atmosphere, this system showed good epoxidation selectivity, the other factors, such as solvent, reaction time, concentrations of oxidant and catalyst, also have been investigated and reaction conditions are optimized. It is a novel highly active/selective and reusable heterogeneous catalyst for styrene epoxidation, while this catalytic system showed no epoxidation selectivity but good enol selectivity for cycloolefins with allylic H.