Zirconia-Supported Ruthenium Catalyst for Efficient Aerobic Oxidation of Alcohols to Aldehydes

We have developed the supported ruthenium catalyst (Ru(OH)x/ZrO2) that shows highly efficient catalytic performance for the oxidation of activated, nonactivated, and heterocyclic alcohols with only 1 atm of molecular oxygen as a green oxidant. The ruthenium active site gave excellent aerobic alcohol oxidation reaction (turnover number (TON) = 63 000). The catalyst was easily recovered after the reaction and could be reused without a significant loss of its catalytic performance.