Efficient oxidation of cumene to cumene hydroperoxide with ambient O2 catalyzed by metalloporphyrins

A novel and efficient protocol for oxidation of cumene to cumene hydroperoxide was presented using ambient O2 catalyzed by very simple metalloporphyrins. The selectivity toward cumene hydroperoxide reached 98.3% in the cumene conversion of 28.1% with T(4-COOH)PPCu as a catalyst at 80[Formula: see text]C. The origin of the higher performance of T(4-COOH)PPCu was mainly ascribed to the low catalytic performance of copper(II) in the cumene hydroperoxide decomposition, and the ability of T(4-COOH)PP in stabilizing cumene hydroperoxide through hydrogen-bond interactions between them. Compared with current industrial processes and academic research in oxidation of cumene to cumene hydroperoxide with O2, the main superiorities of this protocol were the high selectivity, high conversion, simple catalysts, solvent-free, additive-free and mild conditions which made this work an appealing reference for the industrial oxidation of cumene to cumene hydroperoxide, as well as the oxidative functionalization of other C-H bonds in various hydrocarbons.