Novel use of BiOCl as an efficient and selective reagent for cleavage of 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones to carbonyl compounds

A novel use of bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) as an efficient and selective oxidative catalyst for the clean cleavage of 2,4-dinitrophenyl-hydrazones under mild conditions is reported. The reactions proceed very smoothly, and the yields are good to excellent. Over oxidation of aldehydes to carboxylic acid and the formation of by-products were not observed. The catalyst could be recovered and reused for at least four reaction cycles without considerable loss of reactivity. nema