β-pinene oxidation by hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by modified niobium-MCM

Although solid niobium has a high surface area, its high Lewis and Bronsted acidity is a drawback that always compromises its catalytic performance in oxidation reactions. In this work, treating the niobium catalyst with hydrogen peroxide circumvents this disadvantage and results in a significant increase in the selectivity of the oxidation of beta-pinene. In addition, the efficiency of the niobium catalysts supported on MCM was investigated. Nb-MCM//H2O2 and Nb-MCM were the most active catalysts. Good selectivity of up to 85% at a 93-97% substrate conversion has been achieved. The catalyst can easily be recovered and reused several times without loss in activity. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.