Polymer-supported nitroxyl radical catalysts for the hypochlorite and aerobic oxidation of alcohols

PS-TEMPO, a polymer-supported 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) was successfully applied as a recyclable, active and selective catalyst for the oxidation of alcohols. Bleach, molecular oxygen and air were successfully used as terminal oxidant under conditions suitable for industrial applications. The intrinsic activity and selectivity of TEMPO for primary alcohols to aldehydes were retained while the heterogenisation of TEMPO allowed a much simpler purification of the oxidation products and gave the possibility to recover and reuse the catalyst thus reducing cost.