Piperylene sulfone: A recyclable dimethyl sulfoxide substitute for copper-catalyzed aerobic alcohol oxidation

Piperylene sulfone was investigated as a recyclable dimethyl sulfide (DMSO) substitute for copper-catalyzed room temperature aerobic alcohol oxidation. Under the optimal conditions, various primary alcohols could be selectively converted into aldehydes in excellent yields with exceptionally high turnover frequency (over 31 h(-1)). The catalytic system also shows good compatibility with heteroatom-containing (S and N) substrates. Most importantly, the new developed catalytic system could also be-recycled and reused for three runs with only slight loss of catalytic activity.