Cobalt salts oxygen production from water

Cobalt(II) salts are effective catalysts for the oxidation of 1,2-glycols with molecular oxygen in aprotic polar solvents such as pyridine, 4-cyanopyridine, benzonitrile, DMF, anisole, chlorobenzene and sulfolane. Water, primary alcohols, fatty acids and nitrobenzene are not suitable as solvents. Aldehydic products are further oxidized under the reaction conditions. Thus, the oxidative fission of rram-cyclo-hexane-l,2-diol gives a mixture of aldehydes and acids. However, the method is of value in the preparation of carboxylic acids from vicinal diols on an industrial scale for example, decane-1,2-diol is cleaved by oxygen, catalyzed by cobalt(II) laurate, to produce nonanoic acid in 70% yield. ... 

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