Synthesis and catalytic oxidation property of titanium-zirconium mixed oxide microsphere as well as titanium oxide microcube

Titanium-zirconium mixed oxide microspheres and titanium oxide microcubes have been prepared by using sol-gel processes, which are further modified by chiral sulfonyl chloride in order to improve their activities for oxidation of alkenes. Characterizations reveal that the titanium-zirconium microspheres are solid, but substitution of zirconium with L-(+)-sodium tartrate produces microcubes featuring titanium oxide, which has a hollow structure. In catalysis, both microspheres and microcubes show satisfactory conversions of alkenes, as well as promising outputs of high-valued oxidized products. The linkage of chiral sulfonyl chloride looks efficient for improving catalysis. There is a kind of synergy between metal oxide and attached ligand, which plays a key role in catalytic outputs. Lastly, hydrogen peroxide appears to be a promising oxidant for transformation of aliphatic alkenes. This work puts forward micron-sized titanium materials with interesting structures, which also exhibit satisfactory activity for oxidation of alkenes.