A Highly Efficient Iron(II) Catalyst for the Epoxidation of Olefins with m ‐Chloroperoxybenzoic Acid

Abstract An iron (II) complex with oxazoline and pyrrole functional groups was prepared and used to catalyze the epoxidation of alkenes by m ‐chloroperoxybenzoic acid. The iron (II) complex exhibited good catalytic activity for the epoxidation of aromatic terminal alkenes and cyclic alkene in acetonitrile. The 99.7 % conversion of styrene with 91.2 % selectivity of styrene oxide was achieved after reaction 30 minutes at 25 °C. The auxiliary ligands, solvents and oxidants are sensitive to the epoxidation reaction. A possible catalytic mechanism for epoxidation of alkene was proposed.