MECHANOCHEMICAL SYNTHESIS OF CATALYST AND OXIDATION OF BENZYLIC ALCOHOLS

Sustainable oxidation processes are gaining more attention due to their potential to reduce the environmental impact of these reactions [1]. In literature, mechanochemistry has emerged as tool to perform more sustainable reactions [2] and rise as novel method for catalysts activation [3] and synthesis [4]. This study aims to develop a sustainable oxidation method for the selective conversion of benzylic alcohols into aldehydes. The methodology employs a mechanochemical approach solventless. As reported in figure 1, copper-supported catalysts, in combination with TEMPO, can oxidize various benzylic alcohols into their corresponding carbonyl compounds. However, the presence of a substituent reduces the yield of reaction. The green chemistry metrics calculated [5,6,7] indicate that this method is more sustainable than the equivalent solution synthesis. Additionally, it is less energy and time intensive and offers better selectivity.