Selective Catalytic Oxidation of Carbohydrates, Employing Platinum Catalysts

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the selective catalytic oxidation of carbohydrates. Finely divided platinum, with or without a carrying agent, is not only a hydrogenation catalyst but also utilized with success as an oxidation catalyst in numerous preparations. Primary alcohols can be oxidized to aldehydes or acids and secondary alcohols to ketones, using mild conditions suitable for sensitive compounds. Polyhydroxy compounds as carbohydrates can be selectively oxidized, once the necessary conditions have been determined. When only secondary hydroxyl groups are present in a cyclic system, the axial hydroxyl groups are attacked in preference to the equatorial hydroxyl groups, or the first attack is directed against the equatorial hydrogen atom. The selectivity of catalytic oxidation with platinum in certain cases is similar to bacterial oxidation in its specificity.