CuCl catalyzed oxidation of aldehydes to carboxylic acids with aqueous tert-butyl hydroperoxide under mild conditions

Oxidation of aldehydes to the corresponding carboxylic acids can be performed highly efficiently at room temperature with 70% tert-butyl hydroperoxide (in water) in the presence of a catalytic amount of easily available ligand free CuCl in acetonitrile as solvent under very mild conditions. This oxidation protocol works well for various aldehydes including aliphatic aldehydes and aliphatic dialdehydes.

Graphical abstractOxidation of aldehydes to the corresponding carboxylic acids can be performed highly efficiently at room temperature with 70% tert-butyl hydroperoxide (in water) in the presence of a catalytic amount of ligand free CuCl in acetonitrile under very mild conditions.Download full-size image