Flexible oxidation of styrene using TBHP over zirconia supported mono-copper substituted phosphotungstate

A heterogeneous catalyst comprising mono-copper substituted phosphotungstate and hydrous zirconia was synthesized using wet impregnation method, characterized by various physico-chemical techniques and evaluated for solvent-free oxidation of styrene using TBHP as oxidant. Various reaction parameters like time, catalyst amount, amount of TBHP and temperature were optimized with focus on optimum selectivity of styrene-oxide. Further, the catalytic activity was compared with that of unfunctionalized PW(11)Cu to understand the role of the support. Finally, the role of each component of the reaction was clearly elucidated by a detailed kinetic study of the reaction using both the catalysts.