Preparation and catalytic properties of chitosan bound Schiff base copper complexes

Chitosan, a natural polymer, bound Schiff base copper complexes CT‐She‐Cu, CT‐ o ‐Bel‐Cu, CT‐ m ‐Bel‐Cu were prepared and characterize by inductively coupled plasma (ICP), FT‐IR and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Their catalytic activity in the oxidation of cyclohexene with molecular oxygen was studied. All the complexes have catalytic activity and the main oxidation products are 2‐cyclohexene‐ol, 2‐cyclohexene‐one and cyclohexene hydroperoxide, which were measured by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) and GC/IR. CT‐ m ‐Bel‐Cu was selected to study the influence of reaction temperature, amount of catalyst and additives such as acid and base on the oxidation of cyclohexene systematically.