Boosting the epoxidation of long-chain linear alpha-olefins via bimetallic CoIr composite

Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) offers a premier route for mass production of industrially valuable long-chain linear alpha-olefins (LAOs), which cannot be directly separated for further use. Epoxidation of LAOs in FTS mixture allows for easier separation of them, however, the reaction by itself remains a substantial challenge. Herein, we prepared a Co-Ir composite via pyrolysis of molecularly defined "Co-Ir" pair complex and it exhibits an unrivaled space-time yield of 17.5 mol(epo).mol(Co)(-1).h(-1) in production of 1,2-epoxydecane, approximately 6 times to that state-of-the-art Co-based precedent. Varieties of experimental and theoretical characterizations reveal that atomically well-dispersed electron-rich Co is key in the promotion of ROO center dot dissociation into RO center dot. This strategy further succeeds in epoxidation of mixture containing 1-decene and n-decane, evident for its wide-range compatibility. This work greatly advances valorization of long-chain LAOs and separation of their value-added derivatives.