Green epoxidation on Ti-mesoporous catalysts

New mesoporous catalysts with a mean pore size of 65 Å have been synthesised by grafting titanium on a mesoporous silica SBA15 (Santa BArbara) by means of titanium tetrachloride in the gas phase. These catalysts have been tested for the green epoxidation of cyclooctene, cyclohexene, (R)-limonene and -pinene by hydrogen peroxide, tert-butyl hydroperoxide or cumyl hydroperoxide. The selectivity is 100% and epoxide yields can reach almost 100% in the case of organic hydroperoxides without any leaching of titanium species. Here we show that cyclohexene epoxidation could be used as the first step of a greener synthesis of adipic acid.