Chiral Mn(III) salen complex immobilized on imidazole-modified mesoporous material via co-condensation method as an effective catalyst for olefin epoxidation

An imidazole modified mesoporous material has been prepared through a co-condensation procedure and adopted to covalently anchor chiral Mn(III) salen complex. The active centers in the as-synthesized catalyst were presented in the form of ionic species. The results of XRD, FTIR, DRUV-Vis, and N-2 sorption confirmed the successful immobilization of chiral Mn(III) salen complex inside the channels of the modified support and the maintenance of the mesoporous structure of parent support in the immobilized catalyst. This heterogeneous catalyst exhibited comparable catalytic activity and enantioselectivity to those of the homogeneous counterpart in the asymmetric epoxidation of unfunctionalized olefins. Furthermore, notably high turnover frequencies have been obtained over this heterogeneous catalyst for the relatively short reaction time and low catalyst amount, due in part to the ionic property as well as the uniform distribution of the active centers.