Abstract
The oxidation of alcohols to carboxylic acids is an important industrial reaction used in the synthesis of bulk and fine chemicals. Most current processes are performed by making use of either stoichiometric amounts of toxic oxidizing agents or the use of pressurized dioxygen. Here, we describe an alternative dehydrogenative pathway effected by water and base with the concomitant generation of hydrogen gas. A homogeneous ruthenium complex catalyses the transformation of primary alcohols to carboxylic acid salts at low catalyst loadings (0.2 mol%) in basic aqueous solution. A consequence of this finding could be a safer and cleaner process for the synthesis of carboxylic acids and their derivatives at both laboratory and industrial scales.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 122-125 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Nature Chemistry |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2013 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Chemistry(all)
- Chemical Engineering(all)
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Catalytic transformation of alcohols to carboxylic acid salts and H 2 using water as the oxygen atom source. / Balaraman, Ekambaram; Khaskin, Eugene; Leitus, Gregory; Milstein, David.
In: Nature Chemistry, Vol. 5, No. 2, 02.2013, p. 122-125.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Catalytic transformation of alcohols to carboxylic acid salts and H 2 using water as the oxygen atom source
AU - Balaraman, Ekambaram
AU - Khaskin, Eugene
AU - Leitus, Gregory
AU - Milstein, David
PY - 2013/2
Y1 - 2013/2
N2 - The oxidation of alcohols to carboxylic acids is an important industrial reaction used in the synthesis of bulk and fine chemicals. Most current processes are performed by making use of either stoichiometric amounts of toxic oxidizing agents or the use of pressurized dioxygen. Here, we describe an alternative dehydrogenative pathway effected by water and base with the concomitant generation of hydrogen gas. A homogeneous ruthenium complex catalyses the transformation of primary alcohols to carboxylic acid salts at low catalyst loadings (0.2 mol%) in basic aqueous solution. A consequence of this finding could be a safer and cleaner process for the synthesis of carboxylic acids and their derivatives at both laboratory and industrial scales.
AB - The oxidation of alcohols to carboxylic acids is an important industrial reaction used in the synthesis of bulk and fine chemicals. Most current processes are performed by making use of either stoichiometric amounts of toxic oxidizing agents or the use of pressurized dioxygen. Here, we describe an alternative dehydrogenative pathway effected by water and base with the concomitant generation of hydrogen gas. A homogeneous ruthenium complex catalyses the transformation of primary alcohols to carboxylic acid salts at low catalyst loadings (0.2 mol%) in basic aqueous solution. A consequence of this finding could be a safer and cleaner process for the synthesis of carboxylic acids and their derivatives at both laboratory and industrial scales.
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U2 - 10.1038/nchem.1536
DO - 10.1038/nchem.1536
M3 - Article
VL - 5
SP - 122
EP - 125
JO - Nature Chemistry
JF - Nature Chemistry
SN - 1755-4330
IS - 2
ER -