2021/08/13 by Guoxiang Zhang, Zongnan Zhang, Rong Zeng · 3 citations
Chemistry · #Chemical Synthesis and Reactions #Oxidative Organic Chemistry Reactions #Radical Photochemical Reactions
paper · doi:10.1002/cjoc.202100420
openalex publication_date 2021/08/13 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Main observation and conclusion While polystyrene is widely used in daily life as a synthetic plastic, the subsequently selective degradation is still very challenging and highly required. Herein, we disclose a highly practical and selective reaction for the catalytically efficient oxidation of alkyl aromatics (including 1°, 2°, and 3° alkyl aromatics) to carboxylic acids. While dioxygen was used as the sole terminal oxidant, this protocol was catalyzed by the inexpensive and readily available ferric compound (FeCl 3 ) with irradiation of visible light (blue LEDs) under only 1 atmosphere of O 2 at room temperature. This system could further facilitate the selective degradation of polystyrene to benzoic acid, providing an important and practical tool to generate high‐value chemical from abundant polystyrene wastes.