Greener and Efficient Epoxidation of 1,5-Hexadiene with tert-Butyl Hydroperoxide (TBHP) as an Oxidising Reagent in the Presence of Polybenzimidazole Supported Mo(VI) Catalyst

Abstract

Alkene epoxidation with TBHP as an oxidising reagent using heterogeneous Mo(VI) catalyst is an environmentally friendly process since it eliminates acid waste and chlorinated by-products often associated with the conventional industrial method that uses stoichiometric peracid such as peracetic acid and m-chloroperbenzoic acid. Polybenzimidazole supported Mo(VI) complex, i.e., PBI.Mo has been successfully prepared, characterised and assessed for the epoxidation of 1,5-hexadiene in the presence of tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as an oxidising reagent. A quadratic polynomial model has been developed, demonstrating the yield of 1,2-epoxy-5-hexene in four independent variables. The effects of different parameters such as reaction temperature, feed mole ratio of 1,5-hexadiene to TBHP, catalyst loading, and reaction time were studied. Response surface methodology (RSM) using Box-Behnken Design (BBD) was employed to study the interaction effect of different variables on the reaction response. This study presents the optimization of 1,5-hexadiene epoxidation in a batch reactor using TBHP as an oxidant and a polymer-supported Mo(VI) catalyst.