| abstract |
The invention provides transition metal substituted polyoxofluorometallates, a process for their preparation, and a process for the catalytic epoxidation of an alkene comprising contacting a transition metal substituted polyoxofluorometallate and molecular oxygen with said alkene. The process for the preparation of the polyoxofluorometallates comprises two steps: 1) preparing an aquozincopolytungstopolyfluorosodate and 2) replacing the zinc by addition of a transition metal salt (e.g. salts of Ni, Co, Ru, Mn, V). In examples aquoruthenopolytungstopolyfluorosodate (K9[NaH2Ru(H2O)W17F6055]) is prepared and used in the epoxidation reaction. |