Oxidative dimerization of primary alcohols to esters catalyzed by iridium complexes

Primary alcohols undergo efficiently oxidative dimerization by iridium complexes under air without any solvent to form esters in fair to good yields. For instance, the reaction of 1-dodecanol in the presence of [IrCl(coe)2]2 (3 mol %) at 95 °C for 15 h produced dodecyl dodecanoate in 91% isolated yield. This is the first successful Ir-catalyzed oxidative dimerization of primary alcohols to esters using air as an oxidant. Various primary alcohols are converted to the corresponding esters in fair to good yields.