Aliphatic C-H bond oxidation of toluene using copper peroxo complexes that are stable at room temperature

J Am Chem Soc. 2009 Jun 10;131(22):7544-5. doi: 10.1021/ja902327s.

Abstract

Dinuclear copper peroxo complexes obtained from mononuclear copper(I) complexes showed extremely high stabilities under ambient conditions in the solid state and could be heated above 100 degrees C without decomposition. The increased stability could be explained with regard to their molecular structures. Furthermore, the four complexes investigated showed a high potential for aliphatic C-H bond oxidations: for example, technical-grade toluene was oxidized to benzaldehyde in yields of up to 20%.