Titanium containing inorganic–organic hybrid mesoporous materials with exceptional activity in epoxidation of alkenes using hydrogen peroxide

Titanium containing ethane bridged hybrid mesoporous materials with uniform hexagonal arrangement are prepared by two different routes and characterized using several analytical techniques. The effect of substitution of bridged silsesquioxane precursors for siloxane precursors on the properties of resultant mesoporous bulk materials are also evaluated and discussed in term of mesoscopic order and oxidation catalysis. The materials are highly hydrophobic and selectively epoxidize the α-pinene to α-pinene oxide (with >99% selectivity) and display high hydrogen peroxide efficiencies.