Benign homogeneous catalytic oxidation of cyclohexane promoted with glyoxal

Evidence of the promoted effect of dialdehyde (glyoxal) in VO(acac) 2 - and Co(acac) 2 -catalyzed oxidations of cyclohexane by H 2 O 2 under ambient conditions is reported. The V-process leads to a mixture of cyclohexanone, cyclohexanol, and cyclohexyl hydroperoxide and TON up to 4400. The Co-process is much less active but leads selectively to cyclohexyl hydroperoxide. Glyoxal significantly accelerates the process rate and enhances the yield of desired products.