An example of lipophiloselectivity: The preferred oxidation, in water, of hydrophobic 2-alkanols catalyzed by a cross-linked polyethyleneimine-polyoxometalate catalyst assembly

A cross-linked polyethyleneimine polymer containing the [ZnWZn2(H2O)(2)(ZnW9O34)(2)](12-) polyoxometalate was prepared from branched polyethyleneimine (M-w = 600), the polyoxometalate, and a n-octylamine-epichlorohydrin cross-linking reagent. This catalytic assembly was active for the selective oxidation of 2-alkanols to 2-alkanones with aqueous H2O2 with reactions presumably occurring at a hydrophobic domain. Most importantly, the catalyst showed distinctive lipophiloselectivity, that is selectivity as a function of the lipophilic nature of a reaction substrate. The lipophiloselectivity was proportional to the relative partition coefficient (1-octanol/water) of the substrates.