H2O2-Based oxidation of functionalized phenols containing several oxidizable sites to p-quinones using a mesoporous titanium-silicate catalyst

The oxidation of 2-allylphenol and different phenols bearing alcohol functional groups with aqueous H2O2 as oxidant and heterogeneous titanium-silicate Ti-MMM-2 as catalyst exhibits an unusual selectivity affording the corresponding p-quinones with good to moderate yield and keeping the other oxidizable sites intact. The use of hydrogen peroxide and heterogeneous titanium-silicate catalyst is a green alternative to the stoichiometric oxidation with hypervalent iodine compounds that provides better yields of structurally complex quinones in one step.