Novel zeolitic hosts for “ship-in-a-bottle” catalysts

Modified faujasites have been employed in order to incorporate sterically demanding organometallic complexes such as the Jacobsen catalyst in zeolites X and Y. The new heterogeneous catalysts have been tested in the diastereoselective epoxidation of (R)-(+)-limonene in the liquid phase in an autoclave at elevated pressure using O2 as the oxidant as well as in a glass reactor at ambient pressure using NaOCl as the oxidizing agent. In both catalytic systems conversions of 100% could be achieved. Selectivities were up to 70% and de values up to 55% in the autoclave experiments whereas in the experiments at atmospheric pressure they remained below 10 and 30%, respectively.