Dry Chemistry of Ferrate(VI): A Solvent-Free Mechanochemical Way for Versatile Green Oxidation

The +6 oxidation state of iron generally exists in the form of ferrate(VI) with high redox potential and environmentally friendly nature. Although ferrate(VI) has been known for over a century, its chemistry is still limited to the solvent-based reactions that suffers from the insolubility/instability of this oxidant and the environmental issues caused by hazardous solvents. Herein, we explore the solvent-free reactivity of ferrate(VI) under mechanical milling, revealing that its strong oxidizing power is accessible in the dry solid state towards a broad variety of substrates, for example, aromatic alcohols/aldehydes and carbon nanotubes. More significantly, solvent-free mechanochemistry also reshapes the oxidizing ability of ferrate(VI) due to the underlying solvent-free effect and the promotive mechanical actions. This study opens up a new chemistry of ferrate(VI) with promising application in green oxidative transformation of both organic and inorganic substrates.