Monomeric and dimeric oxido–peroxido tungsten(VI) complexes in catalytic and stoichiometric epoxidation

•Homogeneous and heterogeneous oxido–peroxido W(VI) complexes catalyze the oxidation of olefins.•H2O2, urea hydrogen peroxide and tert-butyl hydroperoxide as oxidant.•The substrate conversion and selectivity are very sensitive to the complex structure and the reaction conditions.•The mechanistic pathways for the epoxidation are presented.

Epoxides are important materials in the production of fine chemicals. Selective oxidation of alkenes to epoxides remains a challenge in synthetic chemistry. There has been considerable progress in tungsten-catalyzed epoxidation of alkenes in recent years. This review highlights the use of monomeric and dimeric oxido–peroxido tungsten(VI) complexes as catalysts or oxidants in homogeneous or heterogeneous catalytic systems for epoxidation of olefins.

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