The mechanism of the oxidation of benzyl alcohol by iron(III)nitrate: conventional versus microwave heating

The mechanism of the oxidation of benzyl alcohol with iron(III)nitrate nonahydrate under conventional and under microwave heating conditions has been investigated and the reaction conditions have been optimized. A series of redox reactions leads to the formation of benzaldehyde and other products. Direct comparison between conventional and microwave heating revealed identical conversions profiles. Mastering the microwave induced heat, absence of a real microwave effect and byproduct formation are the major factors to advise a traditional batch-wise way of process development to a larger scale.