Activation of H₂O₂ by methyltrioxorhenium(VII) inside β-cyclodextrin

The effect of β-cyclodextrin on the catalytic stability and reactivity of methylrhenium trioxide (MTO), CH₃ReO₃, which has been used for activation of hydrogen peroxide toward oxidation and epoxidation reactions, was studied using UV-Vis spectrophotometery. The stability and reactivity of the new catalytic system (MTO/β-CD) to activate H ₂O₂ toward oxidation of indigo blue dye were investigated in basic media. Furthermore, effects of inclusion stoichiometry, temperature and concentrations of hydrogen peroxide on the stability and reactivity of the MTO/β-CD system were investigated. The formation of the inclusion complex between MTO and β-CD was confirmed experimentally using the changes in the UV-Vis absorption spectra. The results of this study demonstrate that the complexation process was better guaranteed when the amount of β-CD is higher than that of MTO, using a 1:2 molar ratio of MTO:β-CD enhances both the activity and stability of the catalyst. The results showed that the stability of the catalytic system was enhanced in presence of β-CD with maintaining good reactivity of the MTO even in the presence of high concentration of NaOH. The changes of thermodynamic activation parameters (ΔH^≠ and ΔS^≠) for the oxidation reaction of indigo with H₂O₂ catalyzed by MTO/β-CD system were determined on the basis of the experimental data.