داریوش صابری

Selective to the C–O bond formation, the ester functionalities, particularly the benzylic esters, are common target because of their applications in synthetic organic and medicinal chemistry. Besides the traditional esterification reactions involving alcohols and acids (or their equivalents) several elegant protocols have been developed lately. Catalysts such as Ru, Rh, Ir, Pd ,V, and Cu have been employed for the oxidative coupling between aldehydes or the in situ generated aldehydes and alcohols for the synthesis of benzylic esters. Very recently Patel et al developed an elegant protocol based on the oxidative-coupling of alkyl benzenes under metal-free conditions for synthesis of benzylic esters although using an excess of alkynbenzene cuts the popularity of this method. In this line of research, we have found that the benzylic esters can be synthesized effectively via the oxidative-coupling of benzyl bromides under metal- and solvent-free conditions