Oxidovanadium(V) amine bisphenolates as epoxidation, sulfoxidation and catechol oxidation catalysts

Air-stable oxidovanadium(V) complexes with tetradentate amine bisphenolate ligands were made by the reaction of VOSO₄·xH₂O and ligand precursors in MeOH solutions. Isolated compounds were studied as catechol oxidase models as well as catalysts for epoxidation and sulfoxidation reactions. All compounds can catalyse such oxidation reactions without notable structure-activity correlations. The ⁵¹V NMR studies indicate that the complexes turn to the number of different species during the catalytic experiments.