Selective oxidation of alkenes to carbonyls under mild conditions

Herein, a practical and sustainable method for the synthesis of aldehydes, ketones, and carboxylic acids from an inexpensive olefinic feedstock is described. This transformation features very sustainable and mild conditions and utilizes commercially available and inexpensive tetrahydrofuran as the additive, molecular oxygen as the sole oxidant and water as the solvent. A wide range of substituted alkenes were found to be compatible, providing the corresponding carbonyl compounds in moderate-to-good yields. The control experiments demonstrated that a radical mechanism is responsible for the oxidation reaction.

Automated summary

This method describes a practical and sustainable way to synthesize aldehydes, ketones, and carboxylic acids from inexpensive olefinic feedstock. It utilizes commercially available and inexpensive tetrahydrofuran as the additive, molecular oxygen as the sole oxidant, and water as the solvent. A radical mechanism was found to be responsible for the oxidation reaction, enabling moderate-to-good yields of carbonyl compounds from a wide range of substituted alkenes.