Oxidative Cleavage of Long Chain Olefins to Carboxylic Acids with Hydrogen Peroxide

The role of phase-transfer catalysts (PTC) (ammonium and phosphonium salts) with various anions on the biphasic oxidative cleavage of long chain olefins with aqueous hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by Na₂WO₄/H₃PO₄/PTC system has been investigated. It was shown that the nature of PTC widely affects the catalytic activity of the above system in the conversion of alkenes, cycloalkenes and unsaturated fatty acids into carboxylic acids.