Iron Catalysis for Room-Temperature Aerobic Oxidation of Alcohols to Carboxylic Acids

Oxidation from alcohols to carboxylic acids, a class of essential chemicals in daily life, academic laboratories, and industry, is a fundamental reaction, usually using at least a stoichiometric amount of an expensive and toxic oxidant. Here, an efficient and practical sustainable oxidation technology of alcohols to carboxylic acids using pure O2 or even O2 in air as the oxidant has been developed: utilizing a catalytic amount each of Fe(NO3)3·9H2O/TEMPO/MCl, a series of carboxylic acids were obtained from alcohols (also aldehydes) in high yields at room temperature. A 55 g-scale reaction was demonstrated using air. As a synthetic application, the first total synthesis of a naturally occurring allene, i.e., phlomic acid, was accomplished.