Vanadium complex supported on functionalized diatomite and investigation of its catalytic properties.

Diatomites are silica based porous material has been attracted attention as support material due to its chemical stability, highly porous structure, high specific surface area and low cost. Due to the porous structure and good surface area, diatomite is considered as a catalyst support[1]. In this study diatomite nano-particles were synthesized by sedimentary method and then For the preparation of amine functionalized Diatomite was refluxed with 3-(tri-methoxysilyl) propylamine (MSPA) for 20 h. VO (acac)2 was then supported onto the resulting product and heterogeneous catalyst Diatomite/VO(acac)2 was prepared. The new catalyst was characterized by FT-IR, XRD, SEM, ICP, BET and EDX. Epoxidation of alkenes is one of the most important chemical processes, the products of this reaction are used as a precursor for the synthesis of many chemicals and pharmaceuticals as well as for the production of many valuable materials including epoxy resins, paints and surfactants [2]. Modified diatomite were used to support bis-acetylacetonato-oxo vanadium complexes in alkene epoxidation. The various parameters such as type of solvent, time, amount of catalyst, and type of oxidant were optimized for this reaction. The optimum conditions were found as 20 mg catalyst in dichloroethane with t-BuOOH as oxidant which gives 98% yield during 180 minutes.[1,2]