Oxidation of benzyl alcohols to benzaldehydes in water catalyzed by a Cu(II) complex with a zwitterionic calix[4]arene ligand

A water soluble Cu(II) complex with a zwitterionic calix[4]arene ligand exhibited good catalytic activity towards the oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes in water. The yields of the resulting aldehydes could reach 63-98% with 0.25 mol% catalyst loading at 60 °C within 12 h.157