Methyl Methylacetophenone, oxidation

Alkyl groups are oxidized to carboxyls also in aromatic compounds containing functional groups, which may or may not be affected by the oxidant. Thus p-methylbenzophenone is transformed, on refluxing with chromium trioxide in acetic and sulfuric acid, into benzophenone-p-car-boxylic acid (yield 62-69%) [550], whereas inp-methylacetophenone, both the methyl and the acetyl groups are converted into carboxyls (equation 185) [696, 891]. 

Hypohalites rarely affect alkyl groups bound to aromatic rings. However, p-methyl- and p-ethylacetophenone give terephthalic acid when refluxed with sodium hypochlorite [696], The same product is obtained by the oxidation of p-methylacetophenone with nitric acid and potassium permanganate (equation 431) [891. ... 

The catalytic transfer reductions of ethyl methyl ketone, isopropyl methyl ketone, and 4-methylacetophenone were studied over the wide series of basic, acidic and semiconducting oxides supported on Si02. Most of them exhibited remarkable activity in the studied transformations. The existence of the strong oxide oxide interaction between deposited phases and Si02 was noted. The nature of catalytic active sites was identified using catalytic titration with Hammett indicators and tetracyanoethylene. An unforeseen modifying effect of n-propylamine, o-nitroaniline, and TCNE onto AI2O3 was observed which led to the enhancement of catalyst activity. 

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