Organic Solvent Controlling the Oxidativity of Potassium Permanganate

Abstract

It has been discovered that potassium permanganate can be a homogenous weak oxidant in organic solvent without the addition of water. If acetone is employed as the only solvent, among some common organic substrates included alkenes, alcohols, arenes, aldehydes and phenols, secondary alcohols are converted to the corresponding ketones and aldehydes to the corresponding acid. Compared with oxidation reaction of potassium permanganate in water, in anhydrous acetone system, potassium permanganate as a weaker oxidant has no influence on the alkyls in benzene rings, double bonds and so on. So potassium permanganate can exhibit selectivity by solvent controlling. Especially, when aldehydes are oxidized, the oxidation process is a green organic reaction for nearly all coproducts and solvent can be recycled.