Oxidation and Oxidative Bromination Reactions Catalyzed By a Reusable Polymer-Anchored Iron(III) Complex in Water at Room Temperature

A polymer-anchored iron(III) catalyst was synthesized and characterized. Its catalytic activity was evaluated for the oxidation of various alkenes, sulfides, aromatic alcohols and ethylbenzene with 30 % H2O2 as the oxidizing agent. The catalyst was also effective for the oxidative bromination reaction with 80-100 % selectivity of monobrominated products with H2O2/KBr at room temperature. The above reactions require a minimum amount of H2O2 and short reaction time. Most importantly, all the above reactions occur in aqueous medium. The catalyst can be facilely recovered and reused six-atimes without significant decrease in its activity and selectivity.