Herein, a high selective epoxidation of isobutene was achieved by heterogeneously dispersed MoSe2 with tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP), which further showed versatile substrate scopes and well-retained activity among recycling tests. A rational mechanism is proposed based on extensive control experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, surprisingly unveiling the metal-oxo and radical mediated pathways dramatically accelerated by hydrogen bonds of hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP).
Keywords: MoSe2; hexafluoroisopropanol; hydrogen bonding catalysis; olefin epoxidation.