The Iron(II) Complex [Fe(CF₃SO₃)₂(mcp)] as a Convenient, Readily Available Catalyst for the Selective Oxidation of Methylenic Sites in Alkanes

The efficient and selective oxidation of secondary CH sites of alkanes is achieved by using low catalyst loadings of a non‐expensive, readily available iron catalyst [Fe(II)(CF 3 SO 3 ) 2 (mcp)], { Fe‐mcp , [mcp= N , N′‐ dimethyl‐ N , N′ ‐bis(2‐pyridylmethyl)cyclohexane‐ tran s‐1,2‐diamine]}, and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) as oxidant, via a simple reaction protocol. Natural products are selectively oxidized and isolated in synthetically amenable yields. The easy access to large quantities of the catalyst and the simplicity of the CH oxidation procedure make this system a particularly convenient tool to carry out alkane CH oxidation reactions on the preparative scale, and in short reaction times. magnified image