Selective Oxidative Esterification from Two Different Alcohols via Photoredox Catalysis.

Esters functionalities are important building blocks that are extensively used in the chemical industry and academic laboratories. Direct oxidative esterification from easy-available alcohols to esters would be a much more appealing approach, especially using O2 as terminal oxidant. Inputting external energy by photocatalysis for dioxygen activation, a mild and simple method for ester synthesis from two different alcohols has been achieved in this work. This reaction is performed under neutral conditions using O2 as the terminal oxidant. A variety of primary alcohols, especially long chain alcohols and secondary alcohols are tolerated in this system.