Oxidative cleavage of polyethylenically unsaturated compound to produce carboxylic acid

摘要

A method of oxidatively cleaving polyethylenically unsaturated compound having a pair of carbon atoms ethylenically bonded to other carbon atoms but singly bonded to each other or a pair of carbon atoms ethylenically bonded to other carbon atoms but separated from each other by a saturated carbon atom to produce a carboxylic acid is disclosed. A hydroperoxide such as hydrogen peroxide is used as the oxidant and a salt of vanadic acid such as sodium metavanadate is used as a catalyst to oxidatively cleave such an unsaturated compound in a polar organic solvent. Ethylenically unsaturated compounds that do not contain carbon-carbon double bonds separated by one or two carbon-carbon single bonds, such as a monoethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid present in a mixture with the polyethylenically unsaturated compound, are not oxidized or only minimally oxidized.