Selective catalytic oxidations in supercritical carbon dioxide

Abstract: Conducting catalytic oxidations of organic substrates in supercritical carbon dioxide as reaction medium is one of the most promising strategy for the creation of fundamental chemical transformations that are environmentally benign. There is extensive literature on the use of supercritical carbon dioxide as solvent for unselective hydrocarbons auto-oxidations. Conversely, only a limited number of reports deal with selective oxidations carried out by molecular oxygen or by other primary oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide, alkyl hydroperoxides, monopersulfate, etc. In this paper recent developments in selective catalytic oxidations are reviewed ed in particular those processes in which is formed a metal derivatives, by action of a terminal oxidant which could be oxygen or an organic or inorganic peroxide, capable of selectively oxidizing various substrates.