Short communication The influence of substrate composition on the kinetics of olefin epoxidation by hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by iron(III) (tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)) porphyrin

We have recently proposed a mechanism for the epoxidation of cyclooctene by hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by iron(III) [tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)] porphyrin chloride. The expressions for the rate of hydrogen peroxide consumption and the yield of epoxide derived from this mechanism are in excellent agreement with experimental observations for a wide range of reaction conditions. An interesting feature of the expressions for the apparent rate coefficient and the yield of epoxide relative to peroxide consumed is that they are independent of the properties of the olefin. The present work was undertaken with the aim of determining whether this is a general result applicable to the epoxidation of other olefins. To this end, the rates of epoxidation of cyclooctene, styrene, cis-stilbene, cyclohexene, and norbornene were measured under identical conditions. For cyclooctene, styrene, and cis-stilbene, the observed kinetics and yield of epoxide were independent of the substrate, and no evidence was found by either UV–visible or 1 H NMR spectroscopy for olefin coordination to the iron cation of the porphyrin. By contrast, the rates of cyclohexene and norbornene epoxidation and the corresponding epoxide yields were significantly lower than those of the other three olefins. The lower catalyst activity and lower epoxide yield correlated with both UV–visible and 1 H NMR evidence for olefin coordination to the iron cation of the porphyrin. Olefin coordination increases the electron density on the iron cation and promotes homolytic cleavage relative to heterolytic cleavage of the oxygen-oxygen bond of coordinated hydrogen peroxide. This has the effect of reducing both the apparent rate coefficient for hydrogen peroxide consumption and the epoxide yield. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.