Catalytic Oxidation of Allylic Alcohols to Methyl Esters

Aerobic oxidation of allylic alcohols to methyl esters using gold nanoparticles supported on different metal oxide carriers has been performed successfully under mild conditions (room temperature, 0.1 MPa O₂) without significant loss of catalytic activity. The effects of different reaction parameters are studied to find the suitable reaction conditions. All catalysts are characterised by XRD, XRF and TEM. Among these catalysts, Au/TiO₂ showed the most efficient catalytic activity towards the selective oxidation of allylic alcohols to the corresponding esters. Moreover, the same Au/TiO₂ catalyst is used to optimize all the reaction parameters including the significance of the base to promote the reaction. Due to the mild reaction conditions and high conversions as well as selectivity, the utilization of titania-supported gold nanoparticle catalysts represents a benign reaction protocol to synthesize methyl esters from allylic alcohols.