An efficient and simple method for preparing Nb-MCM-41 has been developed. The mesoporous material Nb-MCM-41 was synthesized at room temperature using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAOH), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMABr) as template and NH 4[NbO(C2O4)2(H2O) 2]路(H2O)3, as the niobium source. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-IR and diffuse reflectance UV-vis spectroscopies. The characterization showed that most of the niobium was incorporated into the framework of MCM-41. Nb-MCM-41 was tested in the epoxidation of cis-cyclooctene using t-butyl hydroperoxide as oxidant and a catalystxyclooctene molar ratio of 1:1000. The activity of Nb-MCM-41 increases with the temperature of the reaction. Cyclooctene oxide was obtained with 50% yield after 24 h at 333 K, without formation of any by-products.154 C29452950Feig, A.L., Lippard, S.L., (1994) Chem. Rev., 94, pp. 759-805Venuto, P.B., (1997) Stud. Surf. Sci. Catal., 105, pp. 811-851Carvalho, V.A., Varaldo, P.B., Wallau, M., Schuchardt, U., (1997) Zeolites, 18, pp. 408-416Tanabe, K., Okazaki, S., (1995) Appl. Catal., 133, pp. 191-218Morikawa, A., Togashi, A., (1993) Catal. Today, 16, pp. 333-339Desponds, O., Keiski, R.L., Somarjai, (1993) Catal. Lett., 19, pp. 17-32Okazaki, S., Wada, N., (1993) Catal. Today, 16, pp. 349-359Jehng, J.M., Wachs, I.E., (1990) Catal. Today, 8, pp. 37-46Jehng, J.M., Wachs, I.E., (1993) Catal. Today, 16, pp. 417-426Okazaki, S., Okuyama, T., (1983) Bull. Chem. Soc. Japan, 56, pp. 2159-2160Nishimura, M., Asakura, K., Iwasawa, Y., (1986) J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., 15, pp. 1660-1661Kushimoto, T., Ozawa, Y., Baba, A., Matsuda, H., (1993) Catal. Today, 16, pp. 571-578Sheldon, R.A., (1991) Chemtech, pp. 566-576Mineral Commodity Summaries - 2001Sheldon, R.A., (1996) Aspects of Homogeneous Catalysis, 1, pp. 411-423. , B. Cornils, W.A. Herrmann, Eds., VCH, WeinheimPaulino, I.S., Schuchardt, U., (2002) Stud. Surf. Sci. Catal., 141, pp. 93-100Ziolek, M., Nowak, I., (1997) Zeolites, 18, pp. 356-360Ziolek, M., Nowak, I., Lavallet, J.C., (1997) Catal. Lett., 45, pp. 259-265Gao, X.T., Wachs, I.E., Wong, M.S., Ying, J.Y., (2001) J. Catal., 203, pp. 18-24Chenite, A., Lepage, Y., Sayari, A., (1995) Chem. Mater., 7, pp. 1015-1019Anpo, M., Higashimoto, S., (2001) Stud. Surf. Sci. Catal., 135, pp. 123-131Prakash, A.M., Kevan, L., (1998) J. Am. Chem. Soc., 120, pp. 13148-13155Tanaka, T., Nojima, H., Yoshida, H., Nakagawa, H., Funabik, T., Yoshida, S., (1993) Catal. Today, 16, pp. 297-307Arnold, U., Da Cruz, R.S., Mandelli, D., Schuchardt, U., (2001) J. Mol. Catal., 165, pp. 149-15
