Copper-Mediated Oxygenation of Nitronate to Nitrite and Acetone in a Copper(I) Nitronate Complex

Mesitylcopper(I) reacts with 2-nitropropane in the presence of PPh3 to give the copper(I) aci-2-nitropropanate complex (1), which, upon reaction with triplet dioxygen yields acetone and O,O'-nitritobis(triphenylphosphine)copper(I) (2). This represents a mild alternative to the conversion of a nitro compound to a ketone.