Fatty Alcohols Through Hydroxylation of Symmetrical Alkenes with Selenium Dioxide/tert.-Butylhydroperoxide

Article abstract of DOI:10.1007/BF02660715

Several symmetrical alkenes were reacted with the selenium dioxide/tert.-butylhydroperoxide system to give three hydroxylated products each.These products were those of allylic mono- and dihydroxylation (meso and threo dihydroxy compounds) of the double bond.Some dihydroxy products were hydrogenated to give saturated 1,4-diols.The compounds were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance.The products have potential for application in commercial products, such as biodiesel, lubricants, greases, and cosmetics. - Keywords: Hydroxylation; nuclear magnetic resonance; selenium dioxide; symmetrical alkene, tert.-butylhydroperoxide.