Selective Oxidation Using Nano-γ-Fe₂O₃ Catalysts

Significance

The oxidation of various alcohols 1 with hydrogen peroxide took place in the presence of 1 mol% of nano-γ-Fe₂O₃ catalyst to give the corresponding carbonyl compounds 2a-e with up to 99% chemoselectivity (eq. 1). The catalyst was separated from the reaction mixture by simple decantation and reused five times in the oxidation of cyclooctanol 1e with no significant loss of activity and chemoselectivity. The catalyst was also used in the oxidation of aromatic olefins 3 leading to the corresponding aldehydes 4a-e with high chemoselectivity (eq. 2).