Selective oxidation of benzylic alcohols via synergistic bisphosphonium and cobalt catalysis

A synergistic photocatalytic system using a bisphosphonium catalyst and a cobalt catalyst has been developed, enabling the selective oxidation of benzylic alcohols under oxidant-free and environmentally benign conditions. High efficiencies have been obtained for a variety of alcohol substrates, and exclusive selectivity for aldehyde products has been achieved across the board. Furthermore, this photocatalytic system proved to be efficient when performed under continuous-flow conditions, even using a simple and easily assembled continuous-flow setup.