Oxidation of Alkenes by Water with H2 Liberation.

Oxidation by water with H2 liberation is highly desirable, as it can serve as an environmentally friendly way for the oxidation of organic compounds. Herein, we report the oxidation of alkenes with water as the oxidant by using a catalyst combination of a dearomatized acridine-based PNP-Ru complex and indium(III) triflate. Compared to traditional Wacker-type oxidation, this transformation avoids the use of added chemical oxidants and liberates hydrogen gas as the only byproduct.