Homogeneous Iron-Catalysed Oxidation Of Non-Activated Alkanes With Hydrogen Peroxide

A novel synthetic protocol for the direct oxidation of alkanes, including cyclic and linear ones, to give ketones and alcohols using hydrogen peroxide as terminal oxidant under ambient conditions is presented. The active catalyst for this challenging transformation is conveniently generated by combination of simple Fe salts with N-methyl bis(picolylamine) (Me-bpa). Utilizing picolinic acid as additive leads to improved yields of ketones and alcohols (32-57 %). The reaction can be conveniently scaled up to multi-g scale.

Automated summary

A novel synthetic protocol for the direct oxidation of alkanes to give ketones and alcohols using hydrogen peroxide as oxidant under ambient conditions is presented. The catalyst for this transformation is conveniently generated by combining Fe salts with N-methyl bis(picolylamine) (Me-bpa). The addition of picolinic acid as an additive improves the yields of ketones and alcohols (32-57%). The reaction can be scaled up to multi-gram scale conveniently.