Rapid aerobic oxidation of alcohols to carbonyl compounds with dioxygen using metallodeuteroporphyrin dimethyl esters as catalysts in the presence of isobutylaldehyde

A facile biomimetic method for rapid oxidation of alcohols to carbonyl compounds using dioxygen as the primary oxidant catalyzed by metallodeuteroporphyrin dimethyl ester [M(DPDME)] in acetonitrile as the reaction solvent and isobutylaldehyde as cocatalyst has been investigated. Among the M(DPDME) catalysts, where M = Fe(III), Co(II), Mn(III), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II), cobalt porphyrin was found to be the most active and effective catalyst. The catalytic system was widely used in the oxidation of various alcohols and especially exhibited excellent activity for oxidation of aromatic alcohols under mild conditions. Moreover, M(DPDME) was prepared from an improved facile method by chemical modification of natural hemin and an alternative mechanism for the aerobic oxidation of alcohols has been proposed and discussed. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 23:295303, 2012; View this article online at . DOI 10.1002/hc.21017