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Styrene oxide with high selectivity (>60%) at high conversion (>50%) can be produced in the biphasic epoxidation of styrene by t-butyl hydroperoxide, using easily separable potassium chromate or dichromate as catalyst in the presence of water; the reactants and products exist in the non-aqueous (organic) phase, while the catalyst exists in the aqueous phase. Both potassium chromate and dichromate catalysts show very high activity in the biphasic epoxidation; however, a more preferable catalyst is potassium chromate. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]