We have demonstrated that a simply prepared water-soluble polyoxometalate, Na12[WZnZn2(H2O)2(ZnW9O34)2], synthesized from readily available zinc and tungsten salts in the presence of nitric acid, is an effective catalyst for selective alcohol oxidation with hydrogen peroxide in biphasic (water-alcohol) reaction media. Experiments have shown that the "self-assembled" catalyst in its mother liquor was as active as the isolated catalyst. The aqueous catalyst solution is easily separated from the water-insoluble products and can be recycled without loss in activity or selectivity.

Sandwich-type polyoxometalates (POMs), namely [WZnM2(ZnW9O34)2]q- [M = Mn(II), Ru(III), Fe(III), Pd(II), Pt(II), Zn(II); q = 10-12], are shown to catalyze selectively the epoxidation of chiral allylic alcohols with 30% hydrogen peroxide under mild conditions (ca. 20 degrees C) in an aqueous/organic biphasic system. The transition metals M in the central ring of polyoxometalate do not affect the reactivity, chemoselectivity, or stereoselectivity of the allylic alcohol epoxidation by hydrogen peroxide. Similar selectivities, albeit in significantly lower product yields, are observed for the lacunary Keggin POM [PW11O39]7-, in which a peroxotungstate complex has been shown to be the active oxidizing species. All these features support a tungsten peroxo complex rather than a high-valent transition-metal oxo species operates as the key intermediate in the sandwich-type POM-catalyzed epoxidations. On capping of the hydroxy functionality through acetylation or methylation, no reactivity of these hydroxy-protected substrates [1a(Ac) and 1a(Me)] is observed by these POMs. A template is proposed to account for the marked enhancement of reactivity and selectivity, in which the allylic alcohol is ligated through metal-alcoholate bonding, and the H2O2 oxygen source is activated in the form of a peroxotungsten complex. 1,3-Allylic strain promotes a high preference for the threo diastereomer and 1,2-allylic strain a high preference for the erythro diastereomer, whereas tungsten-alcoholate bonding furnishes high regioselectivity for the epoxidation of the allylic double bond. The estimated dihedral angle alpha of 50-70degrees for the metal-alcoholate-bonded template of the POM/H2O2 system provides the best compromise between 1,2A and 1,3A strain during the oxygen transfer. In contrast to acyclic allylic alcohols 1, the M-POM-catalyzed oxidation of the cyclic allylic alcohols 4 by H2O2 gives significant amounts of enone.

A basic premise behind the use of polyoxometalates in oxidation chemistry is the fact that polyoxometalates are oxidatively stable. This, a priori, leads to the conclusion that for practical purposes polyoxometalates would have distinct advantages over widely investigated organometallic compounds that are vulnerable to decomposition due to oxidation of the ligand bound to the metal center. Since polyoxometalate synthesis is normally carried out in water by mixing the stoichiometrically required amounts of monomeric metal salts and adjusting the pH to a specific acidic value many structure types are accessible by variation of the reaction stoichiometry, replacement of one or more addenda atoms with other transition or main group metals, and pH control. The structural variety available has enabled the use of polyoxometalates as catalysts for oxidation of hydrocarbons and functionalized organic substrates (alcohols, amines, sulfides, etc.) with a wide range of oxygen donors ranging from molecular oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, nitrous oxide, ozone, alkyl hydroperoxides, periodate, sulfoxide and others. The wide purview of oxidation reactions is enabled because the structural variety leads to oxidation through a number of different mechanistic motifs.From a synthetic organic point of view, the most applicable uses of polyoxometalates as catalysts involve the ''green'' oxygen donors -hydrogen peroxide and molecular oxygen. Since practical applications are in hand in this area, practical considerations concerned with catalyst recycle and/or recovery and the elimination of environmentally problematic solvents are also coming to the forefront. In this paper, we will present some of our activities in the area of ''catalyst engineering'' for catalytic synthetic applications by polyoxometalates including: (a) catalytic mesoporous solids from organic-polyoxometalate hybrid materials, (b) fluorous phase polyoxometalates with and without fluorous solvents and (c) the use of aqueous biphasic media for oxidation with hydrogen peroxide.

and showed only minimal non-productive decomposition of the oxidant. Secondary alcohols were selectively oxidized to ketones, while primary alcohols tended to be oxidized to the corresponding carboxylic acids, although secondary alcohols were selectively oxidized in the presence of primary alcohols. Vicinal diols yielded carbon-carbon bond cleavage products in very high yields. Pyridine derivatives were oxidized to the respective N-oxides, but strongly electron-withdrawing moieties inhibited the oxidation reaction. Primary amines were oxidized to the oximes, but significantly hydrolyzed in situ. Aniline derivatives were oxidized to the corresponding azoxy or nitro products depending on the substitution pattern in the aromatic ring. Catalyst recovery and recycle was demonstrated.