A green selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde by using H2O2 and a Pd(II)-catalyst

The selective oxidation of benzylic alcohols to carbonyl compounds, such as aldehydes and ketones, is a very important organic synthesis for industrial production and is one of the most challenging reactions in green chemistry. As a matter of fact, the aldehydes and ketones are key intermediates in perfumes, spices, flame retardants, pharmaceuticals and other fine chemicals. Although during past decades, a number of papers has been focused on developing new catalyst systems, for the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohols with mild, green, and economic process, it is still a big challenge in organic synthetic chemistry. In this study, a novel selective oxidation of benzyl alcohols to aldehydes and ketones was established by using H2O2 (30% aq) together with Pd(II)-based new catalysts.