Oxidative esterification of methylarenes and 1,3‐dicarbonyls catalysed by copper chloride immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles

Superparamagnetic CuCl nanoparticles were prepared and identified as an effective heterogeneous catalyst for the tandem transformation of methylarenes and 1,3‐dicarbonyl compounds into the corresponding enole esters by the use of tert ‐butyl hydroperoxide as an external oxidant. The catalyst can be removed from the reaction medium simply by use of an external magnet. As a consequence, various derivatives of enol esters were synthesized in moderate to good yields.