Styrene oxidation mediated by a Mo-based mesoporous catalyst can yield selectively styrene oxide or benzaldehyde. Kinetic data evidenced that styrene oxide is the initial single-product formed by the catalytic Mo-mediated process. However, after some hours of reaction benzaldehyde yield rises while that of the epoxide decreases concomitantly. The mechanistic proposal pointed to a surface assisted acid-base mechanism by which styrene oxide is interconverted into benzaldehyde through over-oxidation and cleavage of the C-C bond and releases formaldehyde as well. In an attempt to gain some insight into whether this mechanistic proposal is realistic we have conducted a combined DRIFT and inelastic neutron scattering (INS) study to assess the adsorbed species at the catalyst's surface and confirm the mechanistic proposal. INS and DRIFT provided complementary insight into surface-adsorbed species by probing donor (INS) and acceptor (DRIFT) species. INS also allowed for an estimation of product selectivity by means of a Job method stressing the power of the technique.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.