Solvent free oxidation of primary alcohols and diols using thymine iron(III) catalyst.

In this study, we developed an efficient and selective iron-based catalyst system for the synthesis of ketones from secondary alcohols and carboxylic acids from primary alcohol. In situ generated iron catalyst of thymine-1-acetate (THA) and FeCl(3) under solvent-free condition exhibits high activity. As an example, 1-octanol and 2-octanol were oxidized to 1-octanoic acid and 2-octanone with 89% and 98% yields respectively.