Carbon dioxide-mediated metal-free oxidation of allylic alcohols to esters†
Abstract
This study shows that CO2 can be used as a mild oxidant under metal-free and relatively mild conditions. Various allylic alcohols are oxidized to esters by the CO2-mediated oxidation, followed by N-heterocyclic-carbene-catalyzed esterification. The reduced CO2 was observed as formic acid by LC-MS analysis.