The oxidation of alcohols into carbonyl functional groups is a process that has many uses in multiple fields of chemistry and biology.1,2 Chromium (III) complexes, when bound to either 2,5-dihydroxy-p-benzoquinone or chloranilic acid, (CrQCr)4+ exhibit the ability to oxidize simple alcohols.3 It has been found that the chromium complexes are capable of oxidizing simple alcohols when chromium has an open coordination site. In an attempt to further understand the mechanism of the reaction, multiple chromium compounds were synthesized which have no open coordination sites when coordinated to a quinone. These compounds are cis-Cr(OH2)2(en)23+, cis-Cr(OH2)2(bipy)23+, cis-[Cr(OH2)2(phen)2](NO3)3 and an attempted synthesis of cis-Cr(OH2)2(trien)3+. Subsequent GC/MS data was collected to determine if each CrQCr4+ was successful in oxidizing 1-propanol to propanal. The mechanism implications of these results will be reported. 1 McMurry, John. Organic Chemistry with Biological Approach, 2nd ed.; Thomson Brooks/Cole; Belmont, 2010. 520-521 2 Mayo, Dana; Pike, Ronald; Forbes, David. Microscale Organic Laboratory: With Multistep and Multiscale Syntheses; 5th ed.; Wiley: Indianapolis, 1985. 496-497 3 Linck, R.G.; Taube, H J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1963, 85, 2187.

Mechanism of simple alcohol oxidation by quinone complexes of chromium (III) ion

251st National Meeting (2016)

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