Catalytic Synergism in a C60IL10TEMPO2 Hybrid in the Efficient Oxidation of Alcohols

A novel fullerene [5:1]hexakisadduct bearing two 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine 1-oxyl (TEMPO) radicals and ten 1-propyl-3-ethylimidazolium bromide moieties has been synthesized and characterized. Such an C60IL10TEMPO2 hybrid has been successfully employed as a catalyst in the selective oxidation of a wide series of alcohols and is highly active at just 0.1 mol% loading. Moreover, it can be easily recovered by adsorption onto a multilayered covalently-linked SILP phase (mlc-SILP) through a “release and catch” approach and reused for up to 12 cycles without loss in efficiency. Interestingly, a catalytic synergistic effect of TEMPO and imidazolium bromide moieties combined in the same hybrid has been clearly shown.