Magnetic nanoparticles containing Manganese salophen complex as an selective and recyclable catalyst for epoxidation of alkenes

A magnetically recoverable catalyst consisting of Mn (III) salophen complex was prepared. The synthesized catalyst was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR). The immobilized catalyst was shown to be an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the epoxidation of various alkenes using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as oxidant. The catalyst could be easily and efficiently isolated from the final product solution by magnetic decantation and be reused for 5 consecutive reactions without showing any significant activity degradation.