6 (CrO 4 5 (H 2 O) 2 a Mild and Efficient Reagent for Oxidation of Benzylic Alcohols

Oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols to aldehydes and ketones is one of the most important transformations in organic chemistry both at laboratory and industrial scale. 1 Chromate salts and other chromium (VI) oxides have been widely used as oxidizing agents for a variety of substrates 1a,2 including alcohols. 3 These oxidants are generally used in large excess, 4 but also can be used at catalytic scale in conjunction with secondary oxidants. 5 Recently several chromium(VI) reagents such as: Collins reagent (CrO 3. Py)