RuO2 is a catalyst candidate for the selective propylene epoxidation through a direct path.
Electrophilic weakly bound oxygen species with low coordination number enable the Eley-Rideal mechanism and have higher activity for epoxidation.
Eley-Rideal mechanism shows better selectivity for PO compared to Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism.
High PO formation depends on the surface saturation of weakly bound oxygen species.