An efficient and practical aerobic oxidation of benzylic methylenes by recyclable <i>N</i>-hydroxyimide

Abstract

-hydroxyimide organocatalyst has been achieved with high yields and broad substrate scope. The organocatalyst used can be recycled and reused by simple workup and only minute amount (1 mol% in most cases) of simple iron salt is used as promoter. Phenyl substrates with mild and strong electron-withdrawing group could also be oxygenated in high yields as well as other benzylic methylenes. Influence of substituents, gram-scale application, catalysts decay and general mechanism of this methodology has also been discussed.

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