Concepts of Heterogeneously Catalyzed Liquid‐Phase Oxidation of Cyclohexene with tert‐Butyl Hydroperoxide, Hydrogen Peroxide and Molecular Oxygen

Abstract The oxidation of hydrocarbons is of great significance for the chemical industry as it provides access to valuable functionalized chemicals. The oxidation of cyclohexene has raised much interest because it enables the direct synthesis of adipic acid, which is an important building block in polymer chemistry. However, the selective oxidation of cyclohexene is rather challenging due to its two reactive centers so that epoxidation or allylic oxidation may occur leading to a variety of products. Whether the oxidation takes place at the allylic C−H bond or at the C=C bond is strongly influenced by the chosen oxidant and catalyst, and different reaction mechanisms can occur. Therefore, this concept article aims at giving a broad overview of the recent advances in the selective cyclohexene oxidation over heterogeneous transition metal‐based catalysts using environmentally benign oxidants like tert ‐butyl hydroperoxide, H 2 O 2 and molecular O 2 .