Vanadium (IV) Complex Synthesized Using Natural Product Lawsone as Efficient Catalyst for Oxidation of Activated sp3 C−H Bond

Abstract The vanadium (IV) complex has been synthesized from naturally occurring lawsone and characterized by FT‐IR, UV‐Visible, ESI‐MS, powder XRD, and EPR spectroscopy. DFT calculation was performed for the optimization of complex geometry. The selective oxidation of diphenylmethane to benzophenone with tert‐butylhydrogenperoxide (TBHP) as an oxidant, was evaluated using the vanadium (IV) complex. The effect of several reaction parameters, such as temperature, catalyst quantity, and solvent type, was investigated. Under the optimal reaction conditions, diphenylmethane was transformed to benzophenone with a 96 % conversion with complete selectivity confirmed by GC‐MS. Further, the scope of the catalyst could be extended for the oxidation of other substrate having benzylic sp 3 C−H bond.