Encapsulation of a binuclear manganese(II) complex with an amino acid-based ligand in zeolite Y and its catalytic epoxidation of cyclohexene

A Schiff base ligand was synthesized by the condensation of salicylaldehyde with l-tyrosine. Interaction of this ligand with Mn(II)-exchanged zeolite Y leads to encapsulation of the ligand within the zeolite and complexation of the metal. The encapsulated complex has been characterized by spectroscopic studies and chemical analyses. This material serves as a catalyst for the oxidation of cyclohexene to cyclohexene epoxide and 2-cyclohexene-1-ol using H2O2 as oxidant. The reaction conditions have been optimized for solvent, temperature and amount of oxidant and catalyst. The catalyst shows high activity and selectivity toward production of cyclohexene epoxide in acetonitrile at 60 °C with [H2O2]/[C6H10] = 2.5 molar ratio. Comparison of the encapsulated catalyst with the corresponding homogeneous catalyst showed that the heterogeneous catalyst had higher activity and selectivity than the homogeneous catalyst.