Engineering intraporous solvent environments: effects of aqueous-organic solvent mixtures on competition between zeolite-catalyzed epoxidation and H2O2 decomposition pathways

Solvent molecules alter the free energies of liquid phase species and adsorbed intermediates during catalytic reactions, thereby impacting rates and selectivities. Here, we examine these effects through the epoxidation of 1-hexene (C6H12) with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) over hydrophilic and hydrophobic Ti-BEA zeolites immersed in aqueous solvent mixtures (acetonitrile, methanol, and gamma-butyrolactone). Greater H2O mole fractions provide greater epoxidation rates, lower H2O2 decomposition rates, and hence improved H2O2 selectivities to the desired epoxide product in each combination of solvent and zeolite. The mechanisms for epoxidation and H2O2 decomposition remain constant across solvent compositions; however, H2O2 activates reversibly in protic solutions. Differences in rates and selectivities reflect the disproportionate stabilization of transition states within zeolite pores with respect to surface intermediates and fluid phase reactants, as evinced by turnover rates normalized by the activity coefficients of C6H12 and H2O2. Opposing trends in activation barriers suggest that the hydrophobic epoxidation transition state disrupts hydrogen bonds with solvent molecules, while the hydrophilic decomposition transition state forms hydrogen bonds with surrounding solvent molecules. Solvent compositions and adsorption volumes within pores, from H-1 NMR spectroscopy and vapor adsorption, depend on the composition of the bulk solution and the density of silanol defects within pores. Strong correlations between epoxidation activation enthalpies and epoxide adsorption enthalpies from isothermal titration calorimetry indicate that the reorganization of solvent molecules (and associated entropy gains) required to accommodate transition states provides the most significant contribution to the stability of transition states that determine rates and selectivities. These results demonstrate that replacing a portion of organic solvents with H2O offers opportunities to increase rates and selectivities for zeolite-catalyzed reactions while reducing usage of organic solvents for chemical manufacturing.