Organocatalyst for the Prompt Oxidation of Alcohols

2-Iodo-N-isopropyl-5-methoxybenzamide (1) developed by Yakura et al. is one of the iodobenzoic acid derivatives and used as a catalyst in oxidation of alcohols. Alcohols are rapidly oxidized in the presence of catalytic amount of 1, potassium peroxymonosulfate as a cooxidant and tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulfate as an additive. Secondary and primary alcohols are oxidized to ketones and carboxylic acids, respectively.¹⁾ Not only 1 can be used as a catalyst in the conversion of tetrahydrofuran-2-methanol derivatives into γ-butyrolactone derivatives²⁾ but can be recovered by purification after the reaction.