Optimization of reaction conditions and effect of catalyst type on product distribution in Cyclooctene oxidation

Oxidation of cyclooctene was studied in presence aqueous hydrogen peroxide (30%, v/v) over nano iron oxide. The catalyst prepared by microemulsion method and characterized using various techniques including XRD, TEM and BET techniques for evaluating phase, structure and morphology and surface area. In this study, we investigated the effects of varying the catalyst content, reaction temperature, H2O2 to cyclooctene molar ratio, reaction temperature and solvent. Epoxycyclooctane was found to be the main reaction product, along with amounts of other products. The best result for epoxycyclooctane production is obtained using acetonitril as solvent at 78 oC for a 16 h reaction period with 0.32 g nano-sized iron particle catalyst. The nano-Fe2O3 catalyst has more conversion and yeild than the other iron catalysts in cyclooctene oxidation because of its high surface area and appropriate particle size.