Methane Oxidation by Aqueous Osmium Tetroxide and Sodium Periodate: Inhibition of Methanol Oxidation by Methane

Cast in a new role: Aqueous solutions of OsO4 and NaIO4 oxidize methane to methanol under very mild conditions (see scheme). The generated methanol is preserved over 5 days at 50 °C, although it is more readily oxidized than methane in separate experiments. Remarkably, methanol oxidation by aqueous OsO4/NaIO4 is inhibited by the presence of methane.