Advance in the study of limonene epoxidation with H2O2 catalyzed by Cu(II) complex heteropolytungstates

► Catalytic limonene epoxidation with H2O2 in biphasic conditions was studied. ► The catalysts were [PW9O34]9 − and [M4(H2O)2(PW9O34)2]7 −, M(II) = Co, Zn, Cu, Mn. ► PWCu was the most active due to structural properties from Cu2 + Jahn Teller effect. ► PWCu preserves its structure in PWCu/γ-Al2O3 and its activity was evaluated. ► PWCu/γ-Al2O3 showed a lower conversion to epoxide but higher selectivity than PWCu.