Abstract
The oxidation of 2,6-dimethylphenol (2,6-DMP) was studied using H
2
O
2
as oxidant catalyzed by some transition metal-salphen complexes, supported on poly-vinylpyridinium salts in aqueous solutions. The major product was the diphenoquinone (DPQ). No reaction products were obtained when the reaction was carried out in the absence of polymers. The effects of reaction parameters such as the type of the polymeric support, concentration of H
2
O
2
, pH, and metal-catalyst were investigated in terms of percent conversion and product distribution of the starting materials. The methyl-poly-4-vinyl-pyridinium iodide (PVP-MeI) supported Mn-salphen was the most reactive catalyst system while the n-butyl-poly-4-vinyl-pyridinium bromide (PVP-BuBr) supported Cu-salphen was the most selective catalyst.