Visible-Light-Induced Deep Aerobic Oxidation of Alkyl Aromatics
<b>Oxidation is a major chemical process to produce oxygenated chemicals in both nature and chemical industry. Currently, industrial deep oxidation processes from polyalkyl benzene are major routes to produce benzoic acids and benzene polycarboxylic acids (BPCAs), while to some extent suffering from the energy-intensive and potentially hazardous drawbacks and the sluggish separation issues. In this report, visible-light-induced deep aerobic oxidation of (poly)alkyl benzene to benzene</b><b> (poly)carboxylic acids was developed. CeCl<sub>3</sub> was proved to be an efficient HAT (Hydrogen Atom Transfer)catalyst in the presence of alcohol as both hydrogen and electron shuttle. Dioxygen (O<sub>2</sub>) was found as a sole terminal oxidant. In most cases, pure products were easily isolated by simple filtration, showing the advantages of for scaling up. The reaction provides an ideal way to form valuable fine chemicals from abundant petroleum feedstocks.</b>