Formation of an epoxide intermediate in the photo-oxidation of alkenes over silica-supported vanadium oxide

Abstract

Photo-induced isomerization of propene oxide and photo-oxidation of ethene have shown that photo-oxidation of alkenes proceeds by a mechanism involving not only the oxidative cleavage of the olefinic double bond and oxidation via π-allyl intermediates, but also the formation of epoxides as a precursor. The product distribution in the photo-oxidation of butenes is well explained by the mechanism. A tracer study using ¹⁸O₂ has indicated that oxygen involved in the epoxide intermediate comes from the lattice oxygen of the catalyst.