Cyclohexene Promoted Efficient Biomimetic Oxidation of Alcohols to Carbonyl Compounds Catalyzed by Manganese Porphyrin under Mild Conditions

The of main observation and conclusion Selective oxidation of alcohols to corresponding carbonyl compounds is one of the most important processes both in academic and application research. As a kind of biomimetic catalyst, metalloporphyrins-catalyzed aerobic oxidation of alcohols with aldehyde as hydrogen donator is gathering much attention. However, using olefins as another kind hydrogen donator for aerobic oxidation of alcohols has not been reported. In this study, a system comprising managenese porphyrin and cyclohexene for biomimetic aerobic oxidation of alcohols to carbonyl compounds was developed. The catalytic system exhibited excellent catalytic performance and selectivity towards the corresponding products for most primary and secondary alcohols under mild conditions. Based on the results obtained from experiments as well as in situ EPR (electron paramagnetic resonance) and UV-vis spectroscopy, the role of cyclohexene was demonstrated.