Organoselenium-catalyzed selectivity-switchable oxidation of β-ionone

Abstract

Catalyzed by organoselenium compounds, β-ionone was easily oxidized by H₂O₂ under mild and clean conditions. We were very surprised to find that the reaction selectivity was switchable by the catalyst. To the best of our knowledge, this should be the first example for selectivity regulation using organoselenium catalysts in the field, indicating the great potential of organoselenium catalysis in synthetic organic chemistry in the future.