Catalytic activity of Mn(Salen) and Fe(Salen) complexes encapsulated in zeolite Y

Ship-in-a-bottle complexes of iron (III) and manganese (III) containing the ligand N,N'-(salicylaldehyde)ethylenediamine (H2SALEN) were synthesized in zeolite Y (ship-in-a-bottle), and employed as catalysts in the cyclohexane oxidation reactions, using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, 30% in water) or tert-butylhydroperoxide (TBHP, 70% in water). The complexes, [FeIII(SALEN)Y] and [MnIII(SALEN)Y], where H2SALEN=N,N'-bis(salicylidene)-1,2-phenylenediimine, were characterized by IR and Mossbauer spectroscopy, by N2 BET analysis, X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and elemental analysis. DFT (density functional theory) calculations show that the iron and manganese complexes occupy two cavities of the Y zeolite.