Palladium-neocuproine catalyzed aerobic oxidation of alcohols in aqueous solvents

An overview is presented on the performance of Pd-complexes with phenanthroline-type ligands that are highly active catalysts for alcohol oxidation in water as well as in water/polar co-solvent mixtures. The mechanistic details of this intriguingly active and stable Pd-species are summarized. The (neocuproine)Pd(OAc)2 catalyst is unique in that it tolerates water, polar co-solvents and a wide variety of functional groups in the alcohol. Turnover frequencies of >1500 h−1 were achieved in the latter case and a series of alcohols was oxidized with 0.1–0.5 mol% of catalyst.

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