The catalytic epoxidation of olefin was investigated on two copper complex-modified molybdenum oxides with a 3D supramolecular structure, [Cu（bipy）]4[Mo15O47].2H2O （1） and [Cu1（bix）][（Cu1bix） （δ-MoVl8O26）0.5] （2） （bipy = 4,4＇-bipyridine, bix = 1,4-bis（imidazole-1-ylmethyl）benzene）. Both compounds were catalytically active and stable for the epoxidation of cyclooctene, 1-octene, and styrene with tert-butyl hydroperoxide （t-BuOOH） as oxidant. The excellent catalytic performance was attributed to the presence of stable coordination bonds between the molybdenum oxide and copper complex, which resulted in the formation of easily accessible Mo species with high electropositivity. In addition, the copper complex also acted as an active site for the activation of t-BuOOH, thus im- proving these copper complex-modified polyoxometalates.
