Collect. Czech. Chem. Commun.
1982, 47, 392-402
https://doi.org/10.1135/cccc19820392
Oxidation of benzaldehyde by dioxygen. The thermal reaction
Pavel Lederer, Stanislav Luňák, Eva Mácová and Josef Vepřek-Šiška
Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, 160 00 Prague 6
Abstract
The oxidation of benzaldehyde is catalyzed by transition metal ions even when these are present in trace concentrations. In complete absence of the ions, the reaction between benzaldehyde and dioxygen would not take place. A study has been made of the oxidation of benzaldehyde in benzene catalyzed by transition metal complexes. The catalytic activity of transition metals is higher when they assume their lower oxidation states. When the reaction is catalyzed by iron(III) bis(2,4-pentanedionato)-complex, the first reaction step is the reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II), the latter being the catalyst of the thermal reaction. The mechanism proposed for the catalyzed reaction does not involve free radical formation.
