Efficient oxidation of cumene to cumene hydroperoxide with ambient O₂ catalyzed by metalloporphyrins

Abstract

A novel and efficient protocol for oxidation of cumene to cumene hydroperoxide was presented using ambient O 2 catalyzed by very simple metalloporphyrins. The selectivity toward cumene hydroperoxide reached 98.3% in the cumene conversion of 28.1% with T(4-COOH)PPCu as a catalyst at 80[Formula: see text]C. The origin of the higher performance of T(4-COOH)PPCu was mainly ascribed to the low catalytic performance of copper(II) in the cumene hydroperoxide decomposition, and the ability of T(4-COOH)PP in stabilizing cumene hydroperoxide through hydrogen-bond interactions between them. Compared with current industrial processes and academic research in oxidation of cumene to cumene hydroperoxide with O 2 , the main superiorities of this protocol were the high selectivity, high conversion, simple catalysts, solvent-free, additive-free and mild conditions which made this work an appealing reference for the industrial oxidation of cumene to cumene hydroperoxide, as well as the oxidative functionalization of other C-H bonds in various hydrocarbons.