Design of Organic–Inorganic Phase Transfer Hybrid Catalyst and Its Application in the Epoxidation of α-Olefins

The catalytic epoxidation of α-olefin with long carbon chains has always been a challenge. Traditional homogeneous or heterogeneous catalysts showed poor performance toward the reaction. In this paper, layered organic–inorganic catalysts were prepared by the reaction of phosphotungstic acid and a Gemini quaternary ammonium salt, which could convert long α-olefin to epoxide with a selectivity of 85% in the absence of organic solvents. Combined with characterization results, it was confirmed that the catalyst was layered structure materials, which was supported by a quaternary ammonium salt chain, and the active molecules were distributed between the layered structures. The possible mechanism was also discussed preliminarily.