Organocatalyzed Aerobic Oxidation of Aldehydes to Acids

The first example organocatalyzed aerobic oxidation of aldehydes to carboxylic acids in both organic solvent and water under mild conditions is developed. As low as 5 mol % N-hydroxyphthalimide was used as the organocatalyst, and molecular O₂ was used as the sole oxidant. No transition metals or hazardous oxidants or cocatalysts were involved. A wide range of carboxylic acids bearing diverse functional groups were obtained from aldehydes, even from alcohols, in high yields.