Facile synthesis of licarin A from isoeugenol using Cu ion‐exchanged zeolite Y under mild conditions

Abstract This research focused on investigating the selective synthesis of licarin A by oxidation of isoeugenol by employing copper (II) ion‐exchanged Y‐zeolite ( x CuY, x = 0.02, 0.05, 0.08 and 0.10) as the catalyst. The x CuY catalyst was synthesized through the capillary impregnation method, enabling the exchange of Cu(II) ions within the porous structure of zeolite Y. The structure of x CuY was thoroughly characterized using various analytical methods, namely, SEM, EDX, XRD, FT‐IR, NH 3 ‐TPD and N 2 adsorption/desorption measurements. A high yield of licarin A was obtained through isoeugenol selective oxidation using x CuY under modest and environmentally friendly reaction conditions. Additionally, the x CuY catalyst exhibited excellent reusability, maintaining its catalytic activity even after being reused at least five times.