Binuclear molybdenum Schiff-base complex: An efficient catalyst for the epoxidation of alkenes

Dimolybdenum Schiff-base complex (DMSBC) which contain O,N-bidentate ligand was synthesized and characterized. The complex can be used as a promising catalyst in the epoxidation of olefins with tert-butyl-hydroperoxide (TBHP) as oxidant. The catalytic activity of the DMSBC was optimized by adjusting various parameters. Epoxidation of olefins by DMSBC indicated that the catalyst exhibited superb catalytic activity with high conversions up to 99.6%, high selectivity up to 100%, and high turnover frequency (TOF) of 208 h(-1). Kinetic analysis provided that epoxidation of cyclooctene by DMSBC possessed moderate activation energy (95.3 +/- 2 kJ.mol(-1)). Furthermore, the calculated pre-exponential factor (A) proved that strong collisions probability take place in the reaction. Additionally, the recycle experiments demonstrated that DMSBC could be recovered and repeatedly applied.