Highly selective partial oxidation of methane to methyl trifluoroacetate
Abstract
Methane has been oxidized stoicheiometrically by cobalt(III) trifluoroacetate in CF3CO2H solution at 150–180 °C and 10–40 atm to give methyl trifluoroacetate in 90 ± 10% yield based on CoIII, which is reduced to CoII; in the presence of O2(1–5 atm) the reaction becomes catalytic with respect to the cobalt(III) salt, giving methyl trifluoroacetate as the sole product of the oxidation of methane by dioxygen.