Silica gel supported [1,4-bis(salicylidene amino)-phenylene] vanadium oxo complex catalyst for the oxidation of n-heptane using molecular oxygen

A complex of vanadium with nitrogen containing ligand, vanadium(II) [1,4-bis(salicylidene amino)-phenylene] vanadium oxo, has been covalently bonded on chemically modified silica gel, which serves as a catalyst for the oxidation of n-heptane in presence of molecular oxygen. The reaction occurs at low temperature (at 150 degreesC, 200 psi and reaction time of 480 min) and the nine major reaction products formed have been identified by the GC-MS analysis. Most of the products are substitution products of n-heptane and 2-heptanol (similar to38.1%) is formed with high specificity with very little acid (similar to8.0%). The product distribution is completely different from those reported in literature and suggests that heptane in presence of this catalyst undergoes negligible cracking or isomerization reactions at this temperature. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.