Oxyfunctionalization of a-pinene with a green oxidant using mesoporous molecular sieves modified with vanadium.

ANALÍA L. CÁNEPA; CORINA M. CHANQUÍA; ELIANA VASCHETTO; EDUARDO HERRERO; GRISELDA A. EIMER; SANDRA G. CASUSCELLI

Congreso; 4th International IUPAC Conference on green chemistry; 2012

Selective oxyfunctionalization of terpenes is an interesting route to utilize these inexpensive natural products for numerous industrial applications. Thus, the oxygenated derivates obtained from the a-pinene oxidation (campholenic aldehyde, verbenol, verbenone) are important as flavor chemicals and precursors of fine chemicals, including sandalwood fragrance, taxol and vitamins A and E. Traditionally, the high aggregated value chemicals are frequently produced by classic organic chemistry, focusing only on the desired product instead of considering the synthesis route, which leads to generate significant amounts of contaminated effluents that cause a great environmental impact. Thus green chemistry appears as a practical approach to achieve clean technologies and sustainable developments, providing the catalysis as a fundamental tool to minimize the process steps and allow the use of mild reaction conditions. In this work, we report the oxidation of a-pinene using H2O2 and V modified MCM-41 (V-M(0.035%)) as heterogeneous catalysts. Moreover, the effect of the nature of protic solvent: ethanol (EtOH), isoamyl alcohol (iAOH), and nonprotic solvent: acetonitrile (AcN), methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), on the -pinene activity and products distribution was studied.