Combination of CuBr2 and multi-functional ligand bearing a bidentate nitrogen unit, a phenol group and a TEMPO moiety as catalyst for the aerobic oxidation of primary alcohols

Abstract

A novel ligand (L) bearing a bidentate nitrogen ligand unit, a phenol group and a TEMPO moiety has been synthesized. The ligand has been used as a catalyst precursor for the copper-catalyzed aerobic oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes, in the presence of K 2 CO 3 . The complex obtained in-situ from the ligand with copper(II) bromide (CuBr 2 ) in a 2:1 acetonitrile/water mixture, selectively catalyzes the aerobic oxidation of primary benzylic and allylic alcohols to their corresponding aldehydes, and no over-oxidation products are detected. ª 2014 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).