The influence of chitosan on the performances of mono and μ-oxo dimeric iron tetraphenylporphyrins catalysts for aerobic oxidation of toluene

Mono and μ-oxo dimeric iron tetraphenylporphyrins supported on chitosan are prepared and characterized by UV–Vis and IR spectroscopy. The IR spectra indicate that there is a strong or a weak coordination link of the amine group on chitosan to center iron ion in the corresponding iron tetraphenylporphyrin compound, respectively. For toluene oxidation, there is a difference in catalytic performance between the two supported catalysts, or themselves and the corresponding unsupported catalyst. The differences are relevant to the coordination intensity of chitosan to iron porphyrin in the supported catalysts.