Selective oxidation of benzylic alcohols via synergistic bisphosphonium and cobalt catalysis

A synergistic photocatalytic system using a bisphosphonium catalyst and a cobalt catalyst has been developed, enabling the selective oxidation of benzylic alcohols under oxidant-free and environmentally benign conditions. High efficiencies have been obtained for a variety of alcohol substrates, and exclusive selectivity for aldehyde products has been achieved across the board. Furthermore, this photocatalytic system proved to be efficient when performed under continuous-flow conditions, even using a simple and easily assembled continuous-flow setup.

Automated summary

A synergistic photocatalytic system using a bisphosphonium catalyst and a cobalt catalyst has been developed for the selective oxidation of benzylic alcohols under oxidant-free and environmentally benign conditions. The system showed high efficiencies for various alcohol substrates and achieved exclusive selectivity for aldehyde products. Furthermore, it proved to be efficient when performed under continuous-flow conditions, using a simple and easily assembled continuous-flow setup.