Epoxidation of Styrene with Hydrogen Peroxide over Mn-Ti-Al-MCM-41 Molecular Sieve under Microwave Irradiation

Mesoporous molecular sieves Mn-Ti-Al-MCM-41 prepared by in situ microwave hydrothermal synthesis were studied for the epoxidation of styrene with H2O2 under microwave irradiation. Characterization by XRD, 29Si MAS NMR, N2 physisorption, SEM-EDS, and HRTEM revealed that the materials had a typical hexagonally arranged mesoporous structure with high surface area and narrow pore size distribution. The novel synthesis method of Mn-Ti-Al-MCM-41 shortened the synthesis time from days to hours, and the as-synthesized materials had a higher catalytic activity in the liquid-phase epoxidation of styrene and greatly improved the selectivity for styrene oxide.