Preparation, characterization and heterogeneous catalytic activity of heteropolyanion/polyaniline nanocomposite

A heteropolyanion–polyaniline (Na5[PV2Mo10O40] PVMo/PANI) nanocomposite was prepared through two different method. In the one-step method, aniline was polymerized in the presence of PVMo, and PVMo was incorporated into the polymer matrix during the polymerization process. While, in the two-step method, PVMo was immobilized only on the surface of the ready-made PANI support. The nanocomposite was characterized by FT-IR, XRD, UV–vis, SEM and elemental analysis and used as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for epoxidation of alkenes. Various linear and cyclic alkenes were oxidized into the corresponding epoxides in high yield in the presence of PVMo/PANI nanocomposite under reflux and ultrasonic irradiation conditions.