Unexpected Copper-Catalyzed Aerobic Oxidative Cleavage of C(sp3)–C(sp3) Bond of Glycol Ethers

An unexpected Cu-catalyzed oxidative cleavage of the C(sp3)–C(sp3) bond in glycol ethers by using air or molecular oxygen as the terminal stoichiometric oxidant is demonstrated. As a result, the corresponding α-acyloxy ethers and formates of 1,2-ethanediol are formed by direct coupling of carboxylic acids and aldehydes with glycol ethers under the reaction conditions. This method represents the first example of Cu-catalyzed aerobic cleavage of saturated C–C bond in ethers.