Supported Undecaphosphotungstate: An Ecofriendly and Efficient Solid Catalyst for Nonsolvent Liquid-Phase Aerobic Epoxidation of Alkenes

An ecofriendly solid catalytic system comprising undecaphosphotungstate and neutral alumina was found to be an efficient catalytic system for solvent-free liquid-phase aerobic epoxidation of alkenes under mild reaction conditions. The superiority of the present catalyst lies in achieving 85% conversion for cyclohexene with 100% selectivity toward cyclohexene oxide. Further, the catalyst can be regenerated and can be reused up to three cycles without any significant loss in the catalytic activity.