“…Due to the inherent steric hindrance and electronic effect, complete conversion of α-hydroxy esters is usually difficult, while oxidative C-C bond cleavage could easily occur between two adjacent carbonyl carbon atoms under harsh oxidative reaction conditions [7,8]. Recently, several efficient aerobic catalytic systems have been developed under mild liquid reaction conditions [9,10,11,12,13], such as Pd-, Au-, and Ru-based catalysts, AZADO-NaNO 2 and TEMPO-NaNO 2 . We are encouraged by all these methods, although some drawbacks still exist, such as side reactions, and use of expensive organic or metal catalysts.…”