Polyoxotungstate ([PW 11 O 39 ] 7- ) immobilized on mesoporous polymer for selective liquid-phase oxidation of alcohols using H 2 O 2 .

Selective oxidation of alcohols is an attractive organic transformation and has received tremendous attention from the scientific community over the years. Herein, a mesoporous polymer (MP) was synthesized by a template-free solvothermal approach. The surface of the MP was functionalized with quaternary ammonium groups and polyoxotungstate anion (PW 11 O 39 7- ) was subsequently supported on the MP as a counter anion to the ammonium cation by a simple ion-exchange procedure. The structure of PW 11 and PW 4 complexes was confirmed by 31 P NMR and FTIR analysis. The surface properties of all the catalysts synthesized were explored by various characterization techniques such as nitrogen sorption, TGA, contact angle measurement, and ICP-OES analysis. The synthesized PW 11 /MP catalysts were employed for selective oxidation of alcohols. Among the various PW 11 supported catalysts, PW 11 /MP (80 : 20) demonstrated excellent catalytic activity for the oxidation of alcohols using aqueous H 2 O 2 . The PW 11 /MP (80 : 20) catalyst showed good catalytic activity for oxidation of a wide range of alcohols including substituted, heterocyclic and secondary alcohols. The superior catalytic activity of PW 11 /MP (80 : 20) is attributed to an optimum balance in the hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity in the mesoporous environment, better catalyst wettability, and enrichment of reactants in the catalytic active sites.