Synthesis, characterization and catalytic activity of Cu(II) Schiff base complexes intercalated in layered double hydroxide for the oxidation of styrene

A heterogeneous copper Schiff base complex intercalated in layered double hydroxide, abbreviated as LDH-[SALABA-Cu(II)] has been synthesized and characterized by various analytical techniques like XRD, EDX, FTIR, SEM, ICP-AES, TGA, BET surface area, XPS etc. Its catalytic activity has been examined for oxidation of styrene using 70% tert-butyl hydroperoxide as an oxidant in acetonitrile solvent. The oxidation products have been styrene oxide, benzaldehyde and benzoic acid have been obtained in which styrene oxide is obtained as major oxidation product under optimized conditions. A maximum 81.27% conversion of styrene has been obtained after 5 h of reaction. The catalyst, LDH-[SALABA-Cu(II)] has been recycled ten times in consecutive runs without much loss of catalytic activity. Quenching study has also been performed using p-benzoquinone in order to find out the mode of mechanism.