N-Functionalized Amino Acids Promoted Aerobic Copper-Catalyzed Oxidation of Benzylic Alcohols in Water.

Instead of traditional N,N-bidentate ligands, N-functionlized amino acids were used as powerful N,O-bidentate ligands in aerobic copper/TEMPO-catalyzed system for promoting oxidation of benzylic alcohols. Under the optimized reaction conditions, a wide range of primary and secondary benzylic alcohols have been efficiently converted into aldehydes and ketones with good to excellent yields in water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]