Preparation of high purity 1,2-diols by catalytic oxidation of linear terminal alkenes with H2O2 in the presence of carboxylic acids under solvent-free conditions

The oxidation of terminal alkenes was smoothly catalyzed by a recyclable and environmentally friendly catalytic system: [(C18H37)(2)N(CH3)(2)](3)[PW4O16]/H2O2/formic acid. This new catalytic system is not only capable of catalyzing oxidation of terminal alkenes with a phase-transfer character, but also under solvent-free conditions, avoiding the use of chlorinated solvents. Many different kinds of terminal alkenes could be converted to the corresponding 1,2-diols of high purity in high yields. The catalyst could be easily separated and reused after reaction. Both fresh and used [(C18H37)(2)N(CH3)(2)](3)[PW4O16] catalyst was characterized by Raman and FTIR. (C) 2013 Bin-Dong Li. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society. All rights reserved.