From methylarenes to esters: efficient oxidative Csp3-H activation promoted by CuO decorated magnetic reduced graphene oxide

Magnetic reduced graphene oxide supported CuO (rGO/Fe3O4-CuO) as a heterogeneous catalyst in cross dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) reactions has been demonstrated for the synthesis of esters using methyl aromatics and aldehydes/benzyl alcohols as coupling partners. Various benzylic esters were prepared efficiently from cheap raw chemicals by employing tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as a green oxidant and tetra-n-butylammonium bromide (TBAB)/tetra-n-butylammonium iodide (TBAI) as additives. Because of the heterogeneous nature of this catalytic system, simple filtration was used to separate the catalyst.

Automated summary

In this study, magnetic reduced graphene oxide supported CuO was demonstrated as a heterogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of esters in cross dehydrogenative coupling reactions. Various benzylic esters were efficiently prepared using methyl aromatics and aldehydes/benzyl alcohols as coupling partners, with tert-butyl hydroperoxide as a green oxidant and tetra-n-butylammonium bromide/tetra-n-butylammonium iodide as additives. The catalyst could be easily separated through simple filtration due to its heterogeneous nature.