Studies on the oxidation of α-olefins via the two-stage method are presented. The new method consisted of oxidizing C30+ α-olefins with hydrogen peroxide (2 equiv.) and subsequent oxidation with oxygen. Products with high acid numbers (29-82 mgKOH/g) and saponification numbers (64-140 mgKOH/g) were obtained and compared with products obtained using only hydrogen peroxide or oxygen. It was demonstrated that H2O2 can be partially replaced by oxygen in the oxidative cleavage reaction of α-olefins. N-hydroxyphthalimide in combination with Co(acac)2 demonstrated high activity in the oxidation stage using oxygen.
Keywords: N-hydroxyphthalimide; oxidation; oxidative cleavage; α-olefins.