Front Cover: Switching Product Selectivity in Immobilized Tungstate Catalysts by Control of Hydrophobicity of Mesoporous Silicate Supports (ChemistryEurope 2/2024)

Abstract

Hydrophilic or hydrophobic nature of the mesoporous silicate support of immobilized tungstate complex catalysts affects the selectivity of the alkene oxygenation products. In their Research Article, S. Hikichi and co-workers report that the tungstate immobilized onto a hydrophilic support, which retains silanol groups, catalyzes the epoxidation in a less polar solvent. The tungstate immobilized onto a hydrophobic support, modified with trimethylsilyl groups for capping the silanol, produces trans-diol through epoxidation and following hydration in an aqueous solvent by the highly Lewis acidic tungsten.