A versatile and highly selective hypervalent iodine (III)/2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxyl-mediated oxidation of alcohols to carbonyl compounds

Catalytic amounts of 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxyl (TEMPO) are used in combination with [bis(acetoxy)iodo]benzene (BAIB) as a stoichiometric oxidant in the conversion of primary and secondary alcohols to carbonyl compounds. This procedure works efficiently at room temperature in almost all common solvents and neat in some cases. This process exhibits a very high degree of selectivity for the oxidation of primary alcohols to aldehydes, without any noticeable overoxidation to carboxyl compounds, and a high chemoselectivity in the presence of either secondary alcohols or of other oxidizable moieties. This procedure allows an easy, convenient, high-yielding method for the oxidation of alcohols starting from commercially available compounds.