Base-Free Oxidation of Alcohols to Esters at Room Temperature and Atmospheric Conditions using Nanoscale Co-Based Catalysts

The direct oxidation of alcohols to esters with molecular oxygen is an attractive and crucial process for the synthesis of fine chemicals. To date, the heterogeneous catalyst systems that have been identified are based on noble metals or have required the addition of base additives. Here, we show that Co nanoparticles embedded in nitrogen-doped graphite catalyze the aerobic oxidation of alcohols to esters at room temperature under base-free and atmospheric conditions. Our Co@C-N catalytic system features a broad substrate scope for aromatic and aliphatic alcohols as well as diols, giving their corresponding esters in good to excellent yields. This apparently environmentally benign process provides a new strategy with which to achieve selective oxidation of alcohols.