Glycerol-based solvents as green reaction media in epoxidations with hydrogen peroxide catalysed by bis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)-diphenyl] diselenide

A family of glycerol-based solvents, consisting of eighteen 1,3-dialkoxy-2-propanols and 1,2,3-trialkoxypropanes, both symmetrically and unsymmetrically substituted at terminal positions, has been tested as new solvents in cyclooctene epoxidation with hydrogen peroxide, using a diselenide catalyst, but also without a catalyst. A quantitative relationship between the reactivity and solvent polarity properties has been developed through statistical linear regression analyses, and the predictive ability of the resulting equation has been demonstrated.