Selective oxidative cleavage of terminal olefins into aldehydes catalyzed by copper(II) complex

A simple method for oxidative C=C bond cleavage of terminal olefins to aldehydes with H2O2 catalyzed by copper(II) complex LCu consisted of copper(II) and macrocyclic ligand 5,7,12,14-tetramethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradeca-4,7,11,14-tetraene (L) was described. This study indicated that the copper(II) complex displayed excellent catalytic ability for the selective oxidation of terminal olefins to aldehydes with high selectivity (S > 90%) in CH3CN at 30 degrees C. The possible catalytic reaction mechanism of oxidation of terminal olefins was discussed.