Epoxidation of Olefins Catalyzed by Polyoxomolybdates Formed in-situ in Ionic Liquids

Polyoxomolybdates were generated in situ by treating a carboxylic acid-functionalized ionic liquid with an aqueous solution of sodium molybdate. This reaction mixture was applied in the catalytic epoxidation of olefins using hydrogen peroxide as oxidant. The influence of acid and catalyst concentration as well as of the reaction temperature was investigated. The system showed a good performance for the epoxidation reaction and can be reused several times without a significant loss of activity. We present an easy, cheap and environmentally friendly catalytic system for the epoxidation of cis-cyclooctene.