Pd(II)-biquinoline catalyzed aerobic oxidation of alcohols in water

An aqueous palladium catalyst that is stabilized by a water-soluble biquinoline-based ligand was employed for the aerobic oxidation of secondary and primary alcohols. Secondary alcohols afforded the corresponding ketones while aliphatic primary alcohols were fully oxidized to carboxylic acid products. Water is used as the only reaction solvent and air is used as the oxidant, thus these conversions could serve as environmentally benign “green” alternatives to traditional oxidation methods.