Oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes and ketones using selenium ionic liquid

A new type of ionic liquid supported selenium reagents were synthesized and found to be an excellent catalyst in the oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes and ketones in the presence of 30% H2O2. The predictable solubility of ionic liquids allows an easy separation of the oxidation products from the reaction mixture. Furthermore, the oxidation reaction can be carried out using an ionic liquid as the solvent, and the ionic liquid-supported selenium reagents can be recycled and used for four times with a little decrease in catalytic performance.