Aliphatic C-H Bond Oxidation of Toluene Using Copper Peroxo Complexes That Are Stable at Room Temperature

Dinuclear copper peroxo complexes obtained from mononuclear copper(l) complexes showed extremely high stabilities under ambient conditions in the solid state and could be heated above 100 degrees C without decomposition. The increased stability could be explained with regard to their molecular structures. Furthermore, the four complexes investigated showed a high potential for aliphatic C-H bond oxidations: for example, technical-grade toluene was oxidized to benzaldehyde in yields of up to 20%.