The selective oxidative esterification of aldehydes with alcohols to the corresponding esters has been one of the hot spots in scientific research and industrial synthesis. However, the application of precious metal catalytic systems is limited by their complicated synthetic steps and high cost. Thus a highly efficient, green, recyclable selective synthesis method of esters catalyzed by polyoxovanadate (POV)-based molecular catalysts has been developed in this paper. The results show that supramolecular interaction between POV and 1,3-dibenzylimidazolium bromide (ActIm) can efficiently convert alcohols and aldehydes to the corresponding esters in high yield under much milder conditions. Mechanistic insight is also provided based on the control experiments, single crystal X-ray diffraction and cyclic voltammetry studies.

中文翻译：

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POV基分子催化剂，用于以醛为酰化剂的醇的高效酯化反应

醛与醇选择性氧化酯化生成相应的酯一直是科学研究和工业合成的热点之一。然而，贵金属催化体系的合成步骤复杂且成本高，限制了其应用。因此，本文开发了一种高效、绿色、可回收的多钒酸盐（POV）基分子催化剂催化酯类选择性合成方法。结果表明，POV 和 1,3-二苄基咪唑溴化物 (ActIm) 之间的超分子相互作用可以在更温和的条件下以高产率有效地将醇和醛转化为相应的酯。基于对照实验、单晶 X 射线衍射和循环伏安研究，还提供了机理见解。