Homogeneous Cu/TEMPO catalyst systems (TEMPO = 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl) have emerged as some of the most versatile and practical catalysts for aerobic alcohol oxidation. Recently, we disclosed a (bpy)Cu(I)/TEMPO/NMI catalyst system (NMI = N-methylimidazole) that exhibits fast rates and high selectivities, even with unactivated aliphatic alcohols. Here, we present a mechanistic inve...

We demonstrate an efficient enantioselective oxidation of secondary alcohols catalyzed by Mn(III)-salen complex using N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) as the oxidant. The new protocol is very efficient for the oxidative kinetic resolution of a variety of secondary alcohols, including ortho-substituted benzylic alcohols.

An economic and practical AIBN-initiated aerobic oxidation system of benzylic alcohols, hetero aryl alcohols and allyl alcohols was developed for the first time. Moderate to excellent yields were obtained with a broad substrate scope. Moreover, a proposed mechanism of a radical process was assumed and confirmed by the key intermediate detected.

A new iron-catalysed oxidative amidation of differently substituted benzylic alcohols with mono- and di-substituted amines was developed.

A convenient approach for oxidation of structurally diverse alcohols has been developed using KMnO4 as oxidant agent in the presence of a catalytic amount of Al2O3 in aqueous acetonitrile. In this method various alcohols generally afforded the corresponding carbonyl compounds directly in good to high yield under ultrasound irradiation conditions. It shows that this kind of catalysis system is v...

The oxidation of benzylic alcohols is a ubiquitous transformation in organic chemistry due to the relevance of aryl ketones, present in natural products and pharmaceutically active compounds and also intermediates in the synthesis of agrochemicals, medicines and other functional materials. Numerous oxidizing agents are available to effect this key reaction. In most instances, these reagents are...

The preparation of 2-(N-alkylamino)benzothiazoles via regioselecive N-alkylation of 2-aminobenzothiazoles has been accomplished by using benzylic alcohols as alkylating agents.

The direct functionalization of aromatic compounds, via Friedel-Crafts alkylation reactions with alcohols, is one of the cornerstones in organic chemistry. The present emerging area deals with the recent advances in the use of pi-activated alcohols in the catalytic and stereoselective construction of benzylic stereocenters.

Copper-catalyzed direct conversion of benzylic alcohols to aryl nitriles was realized using NH3(aq.) as the nitrogen source, O2 as the oxidant and TEMPO as the co-catalyst. Furthermore, copper-catalyzed one-pot synthesis of primary aryl amides from alcohols was also achieved.

A novel C5-alkylation of oxindoles using alcohols as alkylating agents under acid catalysis is described for the first time. The reactions of various benzylic, allylic and propargylic alcohols are studied to obtain the corresponding 5-substituted oxindoles in good yields.