Abstract
Silicotungstic acid supported on SBA-15 (SiW12/SBA-15) has been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions and characterized with various analytical and spectroscopic techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD), N-2 adsorption, transmission electron micrographs (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The catalytic activities of SiW12/SBA-15 catalysts were evaluated in the epoxidation of alpha-pinene. 2,3-epoxypinane was the main product. The results showed that under the optimum conditions with 22.5 wt% loading of silicotungstic acid, 1.8 wt% of catalyst dosage, peracetic acid and alpha-pinene molar ratio of 1.15, and 2.5 h of reaction time, the yield of 2,3-epoxypinane reached 90.30%. When the SiW12/SBA-15 was recycled for the fourth time, the catalytic efficiency decreased. The conversion rate of alpha-pinene and the selectivity was 81.65% and 89.44%, respectively.