Carbon–carbon/carbon–heteroatom
bond formation via
oxidative transformations is a heavily explored topic at the frontier of chemistry. Potassium persulfate (K2S2O8) has emerged as a cost-effective, suitable
inorganic oxidant for a wide array of oxidative transformations, ranging
from laboratory experiments to industrial processes. The current review
provides a comprehensive coverage of oxidative transformations aided
with K2S2O8 in the presence or absence
of a transition-metal catalyst, critical assessment of the results,
and underlying mechanisms. Organic chemists may find this review to be a useful guide for the expedient synthesis of new chemical entities, to formulate mechanistic manifolds involving the sulfate radical anion,
or to design novel oxidative transformations. A detailed understanding
of the unsolved mechanisms could further enrich the field.