Copper-catalyzed regioselective allylic oxidation of olefins via C–H activation

A regioselective oxidation of allylic C–H bond to C–O bond catalyzed by copper (I) was developed with diacyl peroxides as oxidants. The oxidation of allylic C–H bond was accomplished with good yield and regioselectivity under mild reaction conditions. This method has a broad substrate scope including cyclic olefins, terminal and internal acyclic olefins and allyl benzene compounds. The reaction proceeds by a radical mechanism as suggested by spin trapping experiments.     

Activation of Hydrogen Peroxide by Ionic Liquids: Mechanistic Studies and Application in the Epoxidation of Olefins

Imidazolium‐based ionic liquids that contain perrhenate anions are very efficient reaction media for the epoxidation of olefins with H₂O₂ as an oxidant, thus affording cyclooctene in almost quantitative yields. The mechanism of this reaction does not follow the usual pathway through peroxo complexes, as is the case with long‐known molecular transition‐metal catalysts. By using in situ Raman, FTIR, and NMR spectroscopy and DFT calculations, we have shown that the formation of hydrogen bonds between the oxidant and perrhenate activates the oxidant, thereby leading to the transfer of an oxygen atom onto the olefin demonstrating the special features of an ionic liquid as a reaction environment. The influence of the imidazolium cation and the oxidant (aqueous H₂O₂, urea hydrogen peroxide, and tert‐butyl hydrogen peroxide) on the efficiency of the epoxidation of cis‐cyclooctene were examined. Other olefinic substrates were also used in this study and they exhibited good yields of the corresponding epoxides. This report shows the potential of using simple complexes or salts for the activation of hydrogen peroxide, owing to the interactions between the solvent medium and the active complex.     

Interrupted Baeyer–Villiger Rearrangement: Building A Stereoelectronic Trap for the Criegee Intermediate

The instability of hydroxy peroxyesters, the elusive Criegee intermediates of the Baeyer–Villiger rearrangement, can be alleviated by selective deactivation of the stereoelectronic effects that promote the 1,2‐alkyl shift. Stable cyclic Criegee intermediates constrained within a five‐membered ring can be prepared by mild reduction of the respective hydroperoxy peroxyesters (β‐hydroperoxy‐β‐peroxylactones) which were formed in high yields in reaction of β‐ketoesters with BF₃?Et₂O/H₂O₂.     

Another Unprecedented Wieland Mechanism Confirmed: Hydrogen Formation from Hydrogen Peroxide,Formaldehyde, and Sodium Hydroxide

In 1923, Wieland and Wingler reported that in the molecular hydrogen producing reaction of hydrogen peroxide with formaldehyde in basic solution, free hydrogen atoms (H^.) are not involved. They postulated that bis(hydroxymethyl)peroxide, HOCH₂OOCH₂OH, is the intermediate, which decomposes to yield H₂ and formate, proposing a mechanism that would nowadays be considered as a “concerted process”. Since then, several other (conflicting) “mechanisms” have been suggested. Our NMR and Raman spectroscopic and kinetic studies, particularly the determination of the deuterium kinetic isotope effect (DKIE), now confirm that in this base‐dependent reaction, both H atoms of H₂ derive from the CH₂ hydrogen atoms of formaldehyde, and not from the OH groups of HOCH₂OOCH₂OH or from water. Quantum‐chemical CBS‐QB3 and W1BD computations show that H₂ release proceeds through a concerted process, which is strongly accelerated by double deprotonation of HOCH₂OOCH₂OH, thereby ruling out a free radical pathway.