Efficient and selective oxidation of tertiary benzylic C-H bonds with O2 catalyzed by metalloporphyrins under mild and solvent-free conditions

The direct and efficient oxidation of tertiary benzylic C-H bonds to alcohols with O-2 was accomplished in the presence of metalloporphyrins as catalysts under solvent-free and additive-free conditions. Based on effective inhibition on the unselective autoxidation and deep oxidation, systematical investigation on the effects of porphyrin ligands and metal centers, and apparent kinetics study, the oxidation system employing porphyrin manganese(II) (T(2,3,6-triCl)PPMn) with bulkier substituents as catalyst, was regarded as the most promising and efficient one. For the typical substrate, the conversion of cumene could reach up to 57.6% with the selectivity of 70.5% toward alcohol, both of them being higher than the current documents under similar conditions. The superiority of T(2,3,6-triCl)PPMn was mainly attributed to its bulkier substituent groups preventing metalloporphyrins from oxidative degradation, its planar structure favoring the interaction between central metal with reactants, and the high efficiency of Mn(II) in the catalytic transformation of hydroperoxides to alcohols.