The iron (II) complex [Fe(CF3SO3)2(mcp)] as a convenient, readily available catalyst for the selective oxidation of methylenic sites in alkanes

Abstract

The efficient and selective oxidation of secondary C-H sites of alkanes is achieved by using low catalyst loadings of a non-expensive, readily available iron catalyst [Fe(II)(CF3SO3)2(mcp)], {Fe-mcp, [mcp=N,N'-dimethyl-N,N'-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)cyclohexane-trans-1,2-diamine]}, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as oxidant, via a simple reaction protocol. Natural products are selectively oxidized and isolated in synthetically amenable yields. The easy access to large quantities of the catalyst and the simplicity of the C-H oxidation procedure make this system a particularly convenient tool to carry out alkane C-H oxidation reactions on the preparative scale, and in short reaction times