Epoxidation of beta-ionone using molecular oxygen over Pt/MCM-41 catalyst under mild conditions

The epoxidation of beta-ionone over the Pt/MCM-41 catalyst using molecular oxygen in the liquid phase had been studied. The results indicated that the beta-ionone was catalytically oxidized to 5,6-epoxy-beta-ionone, 4-oxo-beta-ionone, 4-hydroxy-beta-ionone and dihydroactinidiolide using molecular oxygen as the sole oxidant. The effects of solvent, content of Pt, reaction temperature and time on the catalytic activity and product selectivity had also been investigated in detail.