Hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant for organic reactions

Abstract

This review focuses on catalytic oxidation of organic compounds using hydrogen peroxide. Recent research has focused on the use of environmentally friendly oxidants such as oxygen [1,2] to replace stoichiometric toxic heavy metal oxidants such as dichromate and permanganates [3,4] in organic reactions. Hydrogen peroxide has in recent years become an increasingly important oxidant in chemical transformations involving organic reactions [5]. Hydrogen peroxide is a unique oxidant since it produces water as the only byproduct. In certain organic reactions, hydrogen peroxide is a better oxidant than oxygen since some oxygen/organic mixtures may spontaneously ignite [6]. Another merit of using hydrogen peroxide compared to other low cost oxidants such as sodium peroborate and many organic peroxy acids is its relatively high stability [5]. The limitation of using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant in organic reactions is the unavoidable presence of water as the solvent of the commercial hydrogen peroxide and reduction products. A few reviews papers have been published on the use of oxygen in catalytic oxidation reactions [7-9]. However not much work has been reported in reviewing hydrogen peroxide mediated oxidation reactions. This review will discuss oxidations of amines, hydroxyamines, alcohols, ketones, sulphur and the various reaction mechanisms involved using hydrogen peroxide.