Oxidation cascade with oxone: cleavage of olefins to carboxylic acids

A variety of olefins is shown to be cleaved oxidatively to the corresponding acids with oxone as the reagent. The simple methodology that works well for a range of alkenes, i.e., styrenes, nitrostyrenes, stilbenes, cinnamic acids, chalcones, etc., involves heating of the reactant with oxone in acetonitrile-water mixture (1:1, v/v) at reflux. The oxidation cascade involves initial dihydroxylation followed by oxidative cleavage and oxidation of the resultant aldehydes to acids. (c) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.