Axially coordinated chiral salen Mn(III) anchored onto azole onium modified ZnPS-PVPA as effective catalysts for asymmetric epoxidation of unfunctionalized olefins

A series of chiral salen Mn(III) immobilized onto azole onium modified zinc poly(styrene-phenylvinyl phosphonate)-phosphate (ZnPS-PVPA) were prepared. The catalysts were characterized by FT-IR, diffusion reflection UV-vis, AAS, N-2 volumetric adsorption, SEM, TEM, XPS, XRD, TG and elemental analysis. The results showed that the chiral salen Mn(III) complex was successfully immobilized onto ZnPS-PVPA. These prepared catalysts were evaluated in the asymmetric epoxidation of unfunctionalized olefins with m-CPBA and NaIO4 as oxidants and demonstrated higher catalytic activities than those of the corresponding homogeneous chiral salen Mn(III) catalyst under the same conditions. Moreover, these heterogeneous catalysts were stable and could be recycled nine times without significant loss of activity. Furthermore, this novel type of catalyst could also be validly used in large-scale reactions with superior catalytic disposition being maintained at the same level, which indicated the potential for applications in industry.