Selective Oxidation of Aliphatic CH Bonds in the Synthesis of Complex Molecules

Tamed cat: Iron-catalyzed selective CH oxidation reactions present new possibilities in the synthesis and modification of natural products. As a model reaction of a possible CH oxidation as part of a total synthesis, the natural product (+)-artemisinin was converted into (+)-10β-hydroxyartemisinin in 34 % yield (see scheme). The combination of nontoxic metal catalyst with H2O2 is an environmentally friendly process.