Synthesis of NaLTA zeolite confined CuO catalysts and superior catalytic properties for alkene epoxidation with H2O2 as oxidant

The Na LTA zeolite confined CuO catalyst CuO@Na LTA was prepared via the method of ligand protected in situ with Cu 2+ -glycine complex as Cu source, and characterized by multiple characteristic techniques. The results revealed that CuO nanoparticles were highly dispersed on Na LTA zeolite, and the catalytic properties of CuO@Na LTA were investigated in the alkene epoxidation with H 2 O 2 as oxidant in dioxane. For styrene oxidation, catalyst CuO@Na LTA exhibited excellent catalytic activities with 83 % conversion and 63 % selectivity to styrene epoxide, and could be easily recycled several times without obvious activity loss. The excellent catalytic activities could be attributed to the highly dispersed active CuO species. Besides, multiple electronic effects and coordinative interactions exited in Cu ion and the Si-Al zeolite skeleton framework played a key role in the catalytic recyclability.