Aerobic oxidation of aldehydes to acids in water with cyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbene copper under mild conditions

In this work, cyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbene copper ((CAAC)Cu) catalyzed aerobic oxidation of aldehydes in water at room temperature has been reported. Good to excellent yields were obtained using different substrates. A possible reaction mechanism was proposed, in which (CAAC)Cu dioxygen activates the C–H bond of aldehyde with a low barrier of 10.6 kcal mol−1.