Chemo- and site-selective aerobic oxidation of methylbenzenes to aromatic aldehydes enabled by an Fe(III) photocatalyst

Rui Hong Li, Li Tian Zhang, Kai Cheng Yu, Shuai Liu*, Xiang Guo Hu*, Mu Hua Huang*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

We have developed a chemo- and site-selective aerobic oxidation of methylbenzenes to aromatic aldehydes. It offers several advantages, including the use of an environmentally friendly catalyst (5 ​mol% of inexpensive ferric chloride hexahydrate), the utilization of air as a green oxidant, mild conditions, scalability (up to 5 ​g scale), and operational simplicity. Furthermore, the reaction demonstrates remarkable chemo-selectivity and site-selectivity. This is evident from the lack of over-oxidation leading to carboxylic acids. Additionally, the reaction effectively converts substrates with multiple methyl groups into mono-aromatic aldehydes. The synthetic potential of this approach lies in the ability to modify complex molecules at a late stage, and conversion of inexpensive compounds into high-value fine chemicals. We expect that these characteristics will facilitate the widespread adoption of this reaction in future applications.

Original languageEnglish
JournalGreen Synthesis and Catalysis
DOIs
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 2024

Keywords

  • Aromatic aldehydes
  • Benzylic oxidation
  • C–H oxidation
  • Iron photocatalysis
  • Photocatalysis

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