Amberlyst-15 catalysed oxidative esterification of aldehydes using a H2O2 trapped oxidant as a terminal oxidant

Abstract

A simple and efficient method has been developed for the selective oxidative esterification of aldehydes using commercially available Amberlyst-15 as a catalyst. H₂O₂ released from a clathrate structured 4Na₂SO₄·2H₂O₂·NaCl oxidant serves as an efficient source of terminal oxidants. Various aromatic, heteroaromatic, and aliphatic aldehydes undergo selective esterification to give good to excellent yield. The heterogeneous catalyst, Amberlyst-15, exhibits high reactivity and can be recycled over several runs. The 4Na₂SO₄·2H₂O₂·NaCl oxidant was found to be superior to commonly used oxidizing agents providing an anhydrous, easy to handle and stable form of H₂O₂.