Lewis acid-activated oxidation of alcohols by permanganate

Abstract

The oxidation of alcohols by KMnO(4) is greatly accelerated by various Lewis acids. Notably the rate is increased by 4 orders of magnitude in the presence of Ca(2+). The mechanisms of the oxidation of CH(3)OH and PhCH(OH)CH(3) by MnO(4)(-) and BF(3)·MnO(4)(-) have also been studied computationally by the DFT method.