Tungstophosphoric acid (H3PW12O40) catalyzed oxidation of organic compounds with NaBrO3

The oxidation of organic compounds by NaBrO3 under heteropoly acid catalysis in aqueous acetonitrile at room temperature has been studied. Primary and secondary aromatic alcohols are converted to aldehydes and ketones, alkyl arenes and sulfides oxidized to corresponding ketones and sulfoxide, respectively. In contrary, thiols undergo oxidative coupling reactions to give disulfides. The reaction was carried out in various solvents or under solvent free conditions. The reaction exhibited better results in terms of the yield and rate in H2O/CH3CN.