A series of dinuclear and mononuclear oxovanadium(V) complexes containing tridentate Schiff base ligands derived from pyridoxal and appropriate thiosemicarbazide or hydrazide are reported. The compounds were characterised by elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, IR and NMR spectroscopy. The molecular structure of the dioxido-vanadium(V) complex [VO2(HL5)]center dot MeOH center dot H2O (H2L5 = pyridoxal benzhydrazido ligand), determined by X-ray crystallography, reveals an unexpected distorted trigonal bipyramidal arrangement of the VO2 moiety. A DFT study of this molecule and of the related [VO2(H2L5)] complex of V-IV reveals a moderate effect of the oxidation state change on the bond distances and angles, pointing to solvation as the cause of the structural distortion. All complexes were tested as (pre) catalysts for olefin epoxidation by aqueous tert-butylhydroxyperoxide (TBHP) under solvent-free conditions. Low vanadium loadings (0.05% vs. olefin) resulted in good cyclooctene conversions and TOFs. The lifetime of one catalyst was explored through repeated runs with recovery/recycling. DFT calculations have also addressed the olefin epoxidation mechanism, which reveals the possible direct O atom transfer from the activated tert-butoxido (tBuOO(-)) ligand, without the need to generate a peroxido (022) ligand. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.