Process for producing alcohols and ketones

Abstract: The present invention provides a process for the oxidation of straight-chain, branched-chain or cyclic alkanes of 1-20 carbon atoms and benzene derivatives represented by the following formulas (1) - (2). The alcohols and ketones obtained by the oxidation of the alkanes mentioned above and those by the oxidation of the benzene derivatives mentioned above represented by the following formulas (3) - (6) are important as basic starting materials in producing various chemical products including resins, such as nylon and polyester, pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals, perfumes, dyes, etc.

Description: The present invention relates to a process for the oxidation of straight-chain, branched-chain or cyclic alkanes of 1-20 carbon atoms and benzene derivatives. The alcohols and ketones obtained by the oxidation of these alkanes and benzene derivatives are compounds which are important as basic starting materials in the production of various chemical products, including resins, such as nylon and polyesters, pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals, perfumes, dyes, etc. For effective utilization of alkanes and benzene derivatives which occur naturally in abundance, the development of an efficient process for producing alcohols and ketones by direct oxidation of these alkanes and benzene derivatives is eagerly awaited. However, unactivated alkanes, which have no active functional group, can be oxidized only with great difficulty. Although many researches have reported on this subject, their results are not yet fully satisfactory for reasons of, for example, severe reaction conditions [Chem. Process Eng. (London), 1969, 50(6), 63] and complicated post-treatment steps required (J. Chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. I, 1986, 947). US-A-3931330 relates to a process for the production of benzaldehyde and derivatives thereof and, more particularly, to a liquid phase process for the production of such benzaldehydes by the indirect oxidation of toluene or various substituted toluenes. EP-A-126 488 discloses that butane and other alkanes having 3 to 16 carbon atoms can be oxidized in the liquid phase with control selectivity by carrving out the oxidation with a maximum of 100 parts of cobalt ion per million parts of total reaction mixture up to 10 weight % of acetaldehyde as the promoter and an oxygen purity at 19 to 100% at a temperature of 100 to 200 °C. DE-A-15 68 214 discloses a process for oxidizing a cyclic alkane to form a mixture of a cyclic alkanol and a cyclic alkanone under the following reaction conditions: oxygen containing gas, temperature of about 130 to 180°C, fluid phase under pressure, in the presence of isobutyraldehyde, and optionally in the presence of a common catalyst. The object of the present invention is to provide a process for producing alcohols and ketones advantageously by the oxidation of alkanes and benzene derivatives with oxygen using an easily available catalyst under mild conditions. Thus, according to the present invention, a process is provided for producing the corresponding alcohols or ketones derived from the alkanes defined below, or alcohols represented by the formula (3) wherein R 1 , R 2 , X and m are as defined below, or by the formula (4) wherein X, Y, Z and m are as defined below, or ketones represented by the formula (5) wherein R 1 , X and m are as defined below, or by the formula (6) wherein X, Z and m are as defined below, which comprises reacting a straight-chain, branched-chain or cyclic alkane of 1-20 carbon atoms or a benzene derivative represented by the formula (1) wherein R 1 and R 2 may be the same or different and each denote a hydrogen atom, (C 1 -C 20 )alkyl group, alkyl group substituted with a halogen, alkoxy or phenoxy, phenyl group unsubstituted or substituted with a halogen, alkyl, alkoxy or phenoxy or phenylalkyl group unsubstituted or substituted with a halogen, alkyl, alkoxy or phenoxy, or they conjointly as -CHR 1 (R 2 ) in its entirety denote a (C 3 -C 12 )cycloalkyl group unsubstituted or substituted with a halogen, alkyl, alkoxy, phenyl or phenoxy; X may be the same or different and denotes a hydrogen atom, halogen atom, (C 1 -C 6 )alkyl group, (C 1 -C 6 )alkoxy group, phenyl group or phenoxy group; and m denotes 1 or 2, or by the formula (2) wherein Y denotes a hydrogen atom, halogen atom, (C 1 -C 6 )alkyl group, (C 1 -C 6 )alkoxy group, phenyl group or phenoxy group; Z denotes a group of -CH 2 CH 2 -, -CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 -or X and X' may be the same or different and each denote a hydrogen atom, halogen atom, (C 1 -C 6 )alkyl group, (C 1 -C 6 )alkoxy group, phenyl group or phenoxy group; and m and n each independently denote 1 or 2, with oxygen in the presence of a proton source and in the presence of a transition metal catalyst and an aldehyde, at a reaction temperature in the range of 20° to 80°C. The straight-chain, branched-chain or cyclic alkanes of 1-20 carbon atoms used as the starting material in the present invention may be, for example, methane, ethane, propane, n-butane, isobutane, n-pentane, n-hexane, n-heptane, n-octane, n-nonane, n-decane, n-undecane, n-dodecane, n-pentadecane, n-eicosane, 2-methylbutane, 2-methylheptane, 2-methyltetradecane, 2,6-dimethylheptane, 2,2,8-trimethylnonane, 3-methylpentane, 4-methylnonane, 4-n-propylnonane, 2,2-dimethylbutane, 2,2-dimethylpentane, 3,3-dimethylpentane, 2,2-dimethylhexane, 3,3-dimethylhexane, 3,3-dimethylnonane, 2,2-dimethyltridecane, 3,3-dimethyltridecane, 4,4-dimethylheptane, 4,4-dimethyldecane, 5,5-dimethylnonane, 5,5-dimethyltridecane, 7,7-dimethyltridecane, 2,2,8,8-tetramethylnonane, 4,4,5,5-tetramethyldecane, 5-ethyl-5-n-propyldecane, cyclopentane, cyclohexane, cycloheptane, cyclooctane, cyclododecane, methylcyclopentane, methylcyclohexane, ethylcyclohexane, ethylcyclooctane, 1,2-dimethylcyclohexane, decalin, norbornane, adamantane, etc. The alcohols and ketones which are the objective compounds of the present invention can be obtained, by using the alkanes mentioned above, as the corresponding alcohols and ketones derived from the alkanes. Examples of the alcohols include methanol, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, 2-butanol, tert-butanol, 2-pentanol, 3-pentanol, 2-hexanol, 3-hexanol, 2-heptanol, 3-heptanol, 4-heptanol, 2-octanol, 3-octanol, 4-octanol, 2-nonanol, 3-nonanol, 4-nonanol, 5-nonanol, 2-decanol, 3-decanol, 4-decanol, 5-decanol, 2-undecanol, 3-undecanol, 4-undecanol, 5-undecanol, 6-undecanol, 2-dodecanol, 3-dodecanol, 4-dodecanol, 5-dodecanol, 6-dodecanol, 2-pentadecanol, 3-pentadecanol, 4-pentadecanol, 5-pentadecanol, 6-pentadecanol, 7-pentadecanol, 8-pentadecanol, 2-eicosanol, 3-eicosanol, 4-eicosanol, 5-eicosanol, 6-eicosanol, 7-eicosanol, 8-eicosanol, 9-eicosanol, 10-eicosanol, 2-methyl-2-butanol, 3-methyl-2-butanol, 2-methyl-2-heptanol, 2-methyl-3-heptanol, 2-methyl-4-heptanol, 6-methyl-3-heptanol, 6-methyl-2-heptanol, 2-methyl-2-tetradecanol, 2-methyl-3-tetradecanol, 2-methyl-4-tetradecanol, 2-methyl-5-tetradecanol, 2-methyl-6-tetradecanol, 2-methyl-7-tetradecanol, 13-methyl-7-tetradecanol, 13-methyl-6-tetradecanol, 13-methyl-5-tetradecanol, 13-methyl-4-tetradecanol, 13-methyl-3-tetradecanol, 13-methyl-2-tetradecanol, 2,6-dimethyl-2-heptanol, 2,6-dimethyl-3-heptanol, 2,6-dimethyl-4-heptanol, 2,8,8-trimethyl-2-nonanol, 2,8,8-trimethyl-3-nonanol, 2,8,8-trimethyl-4-nonanol, 2,2,8-trimethyl-5-nonanol, 2,2,8-trimethyl-4-nonanol, 2,2,8-trimethyl-3-nonanol, 3-methyl-3-pentanol, 3-methyl-2-pentanol, 4-methyl-4-nonanol, 4-methyl-2-nonanol, 4-methyl-3-nonanol, 4-methyl-5-nonanol, 6-methyl-4-nonanol, 6-methyl-3-nonanol, 6-methyl-2-nonanol, 4-n-propyl-4-nonanol, 4-n-propyl-2-nonanol, 4-n-propyl-3-nonanol, 4-n-propyl-5-nonanol, 6-n-propyl-4-nonanol, 6-n-propyl-3-nonanol, 6-n-propyl-2-nonanol, 3,3-dimethyl-2-butanol, 2,2-dimethyl-3-pentanol, 4,4-dimethyl-2-pentanol, 3,3-dimethyl-2-pentanol, 2,2-dimethyl-3-hexanol, 5,5-dimethyl-3-hexanol, 5,5-dimethyl-2-hexanol, 3,3-dimethyl-2-hexanol, 4,4-dimethyl-3-hexanol, 4,4-dimethyl-2-hexanol, 3,3-dimethyl-2-nonanol, 3,3-dimethyl-4-nonanol, 3,3-dimethyl-5-nonanol, 7,7-dimethyl-4-nonanol, 7,7-dimethyl-3-nonanol, 7,7-dimethyl-2-nonanol, 2,2-dimethyl-3-tridecanol, 2,2-dimethyl-4-tridecanol, 2,2-dimethyl-5-tridecanol, 2,2-dimethyl-6-tridecanol, 2,2-dimethyl-7-tridecanol, 12,12-dimethyl-6-tridecanol, 12,12-dimethyl-5-tridecanol, 12,12-dimethyl-4-tridecanol, 12,12-dimethyl-3-tridecanol, 12,12-dimethyl-2-tridecanol, 3,3-dimethyl-2-tridecanol, 3,3-dimethyl-4-tridecanol, 3,3-dimethyl-5-tridecanol, 3,3-dimethyl-6-tridecanol, 3,3-dimethyl-7-tridecanol, 11,11-dimethyl-6-tridecanol, 11,11-dimethyl-5-tridecanol, 11,11-dimethyl-4-tridecanol, 11,11-dimethyl-3-tridecanol, 11,11-dimethyl-2-tridecanol, 4,4-dimethyl-2-heptanol, 4,4-dimethyl-3-heptanol, 4,4-dimethyl-2-decanol, 4,4-dimethyl-3-decanol, 4,4-dimethyl-5-decanol, 7,7-dimethyl-5-decanol, 7,7-dimethyl-4-decanol, 7,7-dimethyl-3-decanol, 7,7-dimethyl-2-decanol, 5,5-dimethyl-2-nonanol, 5,5-dimethyl-3-nonanol, 5,5-dimethyl-4-nonanol, 5,5-dimethyl-2-tridecanol, 5,5-dimethyl-3-tridecanol, 5,5-dimethyl-4-tridecanol, 5,5-dimethyl-6-tridecanol, 5,5-dimethyl-7-tridecanol, 9,9-dimethyl-6-tridecanol, 9,9-dimethyl-5-tridecanol, 9,9-dimethyl-4-tridecanol, 9,9-dimethyl-3-tridecanol, 9,9-dimethyl-2-tridecanol, 7,7-dimethyl-2-tridecanol, 7,7-dimethyl-3-tridecanol, 7,7-dimethyl-4-tridecanol, 7,7-dimethyl-5-tridecanol, 7,7-dimethyl-6-tridecanol, 2,2,8,8-tetramethyl-3-nonanol, 2,2,8,8-tetramethyl-4-nonanol, 2,2,8,8-tetramethyl-5-nonanol, 4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-2-decanol, 4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-3-decanol, 6,6,7,7-tetramethyl-5-decanol, 6,6,7,7-tetramethyl-4-decanol, 6,6,7,7-tetramethyl-3-decanol, 6,6,7,7-tetramethyl-2-decanol, 5-ethyl-5-n-propyl-2-decanol, 5-ethyl-5-n-propyl-3-decanol, 5-ethyl-5-n-propyl-4-decanol, 6-ethyl-6-n-propyl-5-decanol, 6-ethyl-6-n-propyl-4-decanol, 6-ethyl-6-n-propyl-3-decanol, 6-ethyl-6-n-propyl-2-decanol, 3-n-butyl-3-n-propyl-2-octanol, 4-butyl-4-ethyl-2-nonanol, 4-butyl-4-ethyl-3-nonanol, cyclopentanol, cyclohexanol, cycloheptanol, cyclooctanol, cyclododecanol, 1-methylcyclopentanol, 2-methylcyclopentanol, 3-methylcyclopentanol, 1-methylcyclohexanol, 2-methylcyclohexanol, 3-methylcyclohexanol, 4-methylcyclohexanol, 1-ethylcyclohexanol, 2-ethylcyclohexanol, 3-ethylcyclohexanol, 4-ethylcyclohexanol, 1-cyclohexylethanol, 1-ethylcyclooctanol, 2-ethylcyclooctanol, 3-ethylcyclooctanol, 4-ethylcyclooctanol, 5-ethylcyclooctanol, 1-cyclooctylethanol, 1,2-dimethylcyclohexanol, 2,3-dimethylcyclohexanol, 3,4-dimethylcyclohexanol, 9-decalol, 1-decalol, 2-decalol, endo-norborneol, exo-norborneol, 1-adamantanol, 2-adamantanol, etc. Examples of the ketones include acetone, 2-butanone, 2-pentanone, 3-pentanone, 2-hexanone, 3-hexanone, 2-heptanone, 3-heptanone, 4-heptanone, 2-octanone, 3-octanone, 4-octanone, 2-nonanone, 3-nonanone, 4-nonanone, 5-nonanone, 2-decanone, 3-decanone, 4-decanone, 5-decanone, 2-undecanone, 3-undecanone, 4-undecanone, 5-undecanone, 6-undecanone, 2-dodecanone, 3-dodecanone, 4-dodecanone, 5-dodecanone, 6-dodecanone, 2-pentadecanone, 3-pentadecanone, 4-pentadecanone, 5-pentadecanone, 6-pentadecanone, 7-pentadecanone, 8-pentadecanone, 2-eicosanone, 3-eicosanone, 4-eicosanone, 5-eicosanone, 6-eicosanone, 7-eicosanone, 8-eicosanone, 9-eicosanone, 10-eicosanone, 3-methyl-2-butanone, 2-methyl-3-heptanone, 2-methyl-4-heptanone, 6-methyl-3-heptanone, 6-methyl-2-heptanone, 2-methyl-3-tetradecanone, 2-methyl-4-tetradecanone, 2-methyl-5-tetradecanone, 2-methyl-6-tetradecanone, 2-methyl-7-tetradecanone, 13-methyl-7-tetradecanone, 13-methyl-6-tetradecanone, 13-methyl-5-tetradecanone, 13-methyl-4-tetradecanone, 13-methyl-3-tetradecanone, 13-methyl-2-tetradecanone, 2,6-dimethyl-3-heptanone, 2,6-dimethyl-4-heptanone, 2,8,8-trimethyl-3-nonanone, 2,8,8-trimethyl-4-nonanone, 2,2,8-trimethyl-5-nonanone, 2,2,8-trimethyl-4-nonanone, 2,2,8-trimethyl-3-nonanone, 3-methyl-2-pentanone, 4-methyl-2-nonanone, 4-methyl-3-nonanone, 4-methyl-5-nonanone, 6-methyl-4-nonanone, 6-methyl-3-nonanone, 6-methyl-2-nonanone, 4-n-propyl-2-nonanone, 4-n-propyl-3-nonanone, 4-n-propyl-5-nonanone, 6-n-propyl-4-nonanone, 6-n-propyl-3-nonanone, 6-n-propyl-2-nonanone, 3,3-dimethyl-2-butanone, 2,2-dimethyl-3-pentanone, 4,4-dimethyl-2-pentanone, 3,3-dimethyl-2-pentanone, 2,2-dimethyl-3-hexanone, 5,5-dimethyl-3-hexanone, 5,5-dimethyl-2-hexanone, 3,3-dimethyl-2-hexanone, 4,4-dimethyl-3-hexanone, 4,4-dimethyl-2-hexanone, 3,3-dimethyl-2-nonanone, 3,3-dimethyl-4-nonanone, 3,3-dimethyl-5-nonanone, 7,7-dimethyl-4-nonanone, 7,7-dimethyl-3-nonanone, 7,7-dimethyl-2-nonanone, 2,2-dimethyl-3-tridecanone, 2,2-dimethyl-4-tridecanone, 2,2-dimethyl-5-tridecanone, 2,2-dimethyl-6-tridecanone, 2,2-dimethyl-7-tridecanone, 12,12-dimethyl-6-tridecanone, 12,12-dimethyl-5-tridecanone, 12,12-dimethyl-4-tridecanone, 12,12-dimethyl-3-tridecanone, 12,12-dimethyl-2-tridecanone, 3,3-dimethyl-2-tridecanone, 3,3-dimethyl-4-tridecanone, 3,3-dimethyl-5-tridecanone, 3,3-dimethyl-6-tridecanone, 3,3-dimethyl-7-tridecanone, 11,11-dimethyl-6-tridecanone, 11,11-dimethyl-5-tridecanone, 11,11-dimethyl-4-tridecanone, 11,11-dimethyl-3-tridecanone, 11,11-dimethyl-2-tridecanone, 4,4-dimethyl-2-heptanone, 4,4-dimethyl-3-heptanone, 4,4-dimethyl-2-decanone, 4,4-dimethyl-3-decanone, 4,4-dimethyl-5-decanone, 7,7-dimethyl-5-decanone, 7,7-dimethyl-4-decanone, 7,7-dimethyl-3-decanone, 7,7-dimethyl-2-decanone, 5,5-dimethyl-2-nonanone, 5,5-dimethyl-3-nonanone, 5,5-dimethyl-4-nonanone, 5,5-dimethyl-2-tridecanone, 5,5-dimethyl-3-tridecanone, 5,5-dimethyl-4-tridecanone, 5,5-dimethyl-6-tridecanone, 5,5-dimethyl-7-tridecanone, 9,9-dimethyl-6-tridecanone, 9,9-dimethyl-5-tridecanone, 9,9-dimethyl-4-tridecanone, 9,9-dimethyl-3-tridecanone, 9,9-dimethyl-2-tridecanone, 7,7-dimethyl-2-tridecanone, 7,7-dimethyl-3-tridecanone, 7,7-dimethyl-4-tridecanone, 7,7-dimethyl-5-tridecanone, 7,7-dimethyl-6-tridecanone, 2,2,8,8-tetramethyl-3-nonanone, 2,2,8,8-tetramethyl-4-nonanone, 2,2,8,8-tetramethyl-5-nonanone, 4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-2-decanone, 4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-3-decanone, 6,6,7,7-tetramethyl-5-decanone, 6,6,7,7-tetramethyl-4-decanone, 6,6,7,7-tetramethyl-3-decanone, 6,6,7,7-tetramethyl-2-decanone, 5-ethyl-5-n-propyl-2-decanone, 5-ethyl-5-n-propyl-3-decanone, 5-ethyl-5-n-propyl-4-decanone, 6-ethyl-6-n-propyl-5-decanone, 6-ethyl-6-n-propyl-4-decanone, 6-ethyl-6-n-propyl-3-decanone, 6-ethyl-6-n-propyl-2-decanone, 3-n-butyl-3-n-propyl-2-octanone, 4-butyl-4-ethyl-2-nonanone, 4-butyl-4-ethyl-3-nonanone, cyclopentanone, cyclohexanone, cycloheptanone, cyclooctanone, cyclododecanone, 2-methylcyclopentanone, 3-methylcyclopentanone, 2-methylcyclohexanone, 3-methylcyclohexanone, 4-methylcyclohexanone, 2-ethylcyclohexanone, 3-ethylcyclohexanone, 4-ethylcyclohexanone, cyclohexyl methyl ketone, 2-ethylcyclooctanone, 3-ethylcyclooctanone, 4-ethylcyclooctanone, 5-ethylcyclooctanone, cyclooctyl methyl ketone, 2,3-dimethylcyclohexanone, 3,4-dimethylcyclohexanone, 1-decalone, 2-decalone, norcamphor, 2-adamantanone, etc. Examples of the benzene derivatives represented by the above formula (1) used as the starting material in the present invention include ethylbenzene, n-propylbenzene, n-butylbenzene, n-heptylbenzene, n-undecylbenzene, 2-chloroethylbenzene, 2-methoxyethylbenzene, 2-phenoxyethylbenzene, diphenylmethane, di(p-chlorophenyl)methane, di(p-tolyl)methane, di(p-methoxyphenyl)methane, di(m-phenoxyphenyl)methane, 1,2-diphenylethane, 1,3-diphenylpropane, o-ethyltoluene, m-ethyltoluene, p-ethyltoluene, o-chloroethylbenzene, m-chloroethylbenzene, p-chloroethylbenzene, p-bromoethylbenzene, p-methoxyethylbenzene, m-phenoxyethylbenzene, 2,4-dichloroethylbenzene, 2,4-dibromoethylbenzene, 2-chloro-4-methoxyethylbenzene, cumene, o-chlorocumene, m-chlorocumene, p-chlorocumene, p-bromocumene, p-methoxycumene, m-phenoxycumene, 2-phenylbutane, 2-phenylhexane, 3-phenylpentane, 3-phenylheptane, phenylcyclohexane, 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene, etc. The alcohols or the ketones which are the objective compounds of the present invention can be obtained, by use of the benzene derivatives mentioned above, as the alcohols represented by the above formula (3) or as the ketones represented by the above formula (5). Examples of the alcohols represented by the formula (3) include 1-phenylethanol, 1-phenyl-1-propanol, 1-phenyl-1-butanol, 1-phenyl-1-heptanol, 1-phenyl-1-undecanol, 2-chloro-1-phenylethanol, 2-methoxy-1-phenylethanol, 2-phenoxy-1-phenylethanol, diphenylmethanol, di(p-chlorophenyl)methanol, di(p-tolyl)methanol, di(p-methoxyphenyl)methanol, di(m-phenoxyphenyl)methanol, 1,2-diphenylethanol, 1,3-diphenyl-1-ethanol, 1-(o-tolyl)ethanol, 1-(m-tolyl)ethanol, 1-(p-tolyl)ethanol, 1-(2'-chlorophenyl)ethanol, 1-(3'-chlorophenyl)ethanol, 1-(4'-chlorophenyl)ethanol, 1-(4'-bromophenyl)ethanol, 1-(4'-methoxyphenyl)ethanol, 1-(3'-phenoxyphenyl)ethanol, 1-(2',4'-dichlorophenyl)ethanol, 1-(2',4'-dibromophenyl)ethanol, 1-(2'-chloro-4'-methoxyphenyl)ethanol, 2-phenyl-2-propanol, 2-(2'-chlorophenyl)-2-propanol, 2-(3'-chlorophenyl)-2-propanol, 2-(4'-chlorophenyl)-2-propanol, 2-(4'-bromophenyl)-2-propanol, 2-(4'-methoxyphenyl)-2-propanol, 2-(3'-phenoxyphenyl)-2-propanol, 2-phenyl-2-butanol, 2-phenyl-2-hexanol, 3-phenyl-3-pentanol, 3-phenyl-3-heptanol, 1-phenylcyclohexanol, 2-(3',5'-diisopropylphenyl)-2-propanol, etc. Examples of the ketones represented by the formula (5) include acetophenone, propiophenone, butanophenone, heptanophenone, undecaphenone, 2-chloroacetophenone, 2-methoxyacetophenone, 2-phenoxyacetophenone, benzophenone, 4,4'-dichlorobenzophenone, 4,4'-dimethylbenzophenone, 4,4'-dimethoxybenzophenone, 3,3'-diphenoxybenzophenone, 2-phenylacetophenone, 3-phenylpropiophenone, 2'-methylacetophenone, 3'-methylacetophenone, 4'-methylacetophenone, 2'-chloroacetophenone, 3'-chloroacetophenone, 4'-chloroacetophenone, 4'-bromoacetophenone, 4'-methoxyacetophenone, 3'-phenoxyacetophenone, 2',4'-dichloroacetophenone, 2',4,-dibromoacetophenone, 2'-chloro-4'-methoxyacetophenone, etc. Examples of the benzene derivatives represented by the above formula (2) used as the starting material in the present invention include indan, tetralin, fluorene, 2,7-dibromofluorene, 2,7-dimethylfluorene, 2,7-dimethoxyfluorene, 2,7-diphenoxyfluorene, 1-methylindan, 9-methylfluorene, etc. The alcohols or the ketones which are the objective compounds of the present invention can be obtained, by use of benzene derivatives mentioned above, as the alcohols represented by the above formula (4) or as the ketones represented by the above formula (6). Examples of the alcohols represented by the formula (4) include 1-indanol, 1-tetralol, 9-fluorenol, 2,7-dibromo-9-fluorenol, 2,7-dimethyl-9-fluorenol, 2,7-dimethoxy-9-fluorenol, 2,7-diphenoxy-9-fluorenol, 1-methyl-1-indanol, 9-methyl-9-fluorenol, etc. Examples of the ketones represented by the formula (6) include 1-indanone, 1-tetralone, fluorenone, 2,7-dibromofluorenone, 2,7-dimethylfluorenone, 2,7-dimethoxyfluorenone, 2,7-diphenoxyfluorenone, etc. The transition metal catalyst may be a chromium-containing catalyst, manganese-containing catalyst, iron-containing catalyst, cobalt-containing catalyst, nickel-containing catalyst, copper-containing catalyst, ruthenium-containing catalyst, osmium-containing catalyst, and the like. Specific examples thereof include Cr, CrCl 2 ·nH 2 O, Cr 2 (SO 4 ) 3 ·nH 2 O, CrCl 3 ·nH 2 O, CrF 3 ·nH 2 O, Cr(OAc) 3 ·nH 2 O, Cr(HCOO) 3 ·nH 2 O, Cr(NO 3 ) 3 ·nH 2 O, CrNH 4 (SO 4 ) 2 ·nH 2 O, CrPO 4 ·nH 2 O, Cr 2 O 3 ·nH 2 O, CrO 3 , Cr(acac) 3 , Mn, MnCl 2 ·nH 2 O MnBr 2 ·nH 2 O, MnF 2 , MnSO 4 ·nH 2 O, Mn(NO 3 ) 2 ·nH 2 O, Mn(OAc) 2 ·nH 2 O, Mn(ClO 4 ) 2 ·nH 2 O, MnHPO 4 ·nH 2 O, MnCO 3 ·nH 2 O, Mn(OAc) 3 ·nH 2 O, MnO 2 , Mn(acac) 2 ·nH 2 O, Mn(acac) 3 ·nH 2 O, Fe, Fe(CO) 5 , Fe(CO) 9 , Fe(CO) 12 , FeCl 2 ·nH 2 O, FeBr 2 ·nH 2 O, FeSO 4 ·nH 2 O, Fe(ClO 4 ) 2 ·nH 2 O, FeSO 4 ·(NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 ·nH 2 O, Fe 3 (PO 4 ) 2 ·nH 2 O, FeCl 3 ·nH 2 O, FeF 3 ·nH 2 O, Fe 2 (SO 4 ) 3 ·nH 2 O, Fe(NO 3 ) 3 ·nH 2 O, Fe(OAc) 3 , Fe(ClO 4 ) 3 ·nH 2 O, FeNH 4 (SO 4 ) 2 ·nH 2 O, FePO 4 ·nH 2 O, Fe 2 O 3 , Fe 3 O 4 , Fe(acac) 3 , Co, CoCl 2 ·nH 2 O, CoBr 2 ·nH 2 O, CoI 2 ·nH 2 O, CoF 2 ·nH 2 O, CoSO 4 ·nH 2 O, Co(NO 3 ) 2 ·nH 2 O, Co(OAc) 2 ·nH 2 O, CoSO 4 ·(NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 ·nH 2 O, Co 3 (PO 4 ) 2 ·nH 2 O, CoCO 3 , Co(OH) 2 , Co(acac) 2 ·nH 2 O, Co(acac) 3 ·nH 2 O, Co 3 O 4 , Ni, NiCl 2 ·nH 2 O, NiBr 2 ·nH 2 O, NiI 2 ·nH 2 O, NiF 2 ·nH 2 O, NiSO 4 ·nH 2 O, Ni(NO 3 ) 2 ·nH 2 O, Ni(OAc) 2 ·nH 2 O, Ni(HCOO) 2 ·nH 2 O, Ni(ClO 4 ) 2 ·nH 2 O, NiSO 4 ·(NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 ·nH 2 O, NiCO 3 , Ni(OH) 2 , Ni(acac) 2 ·nH 2 O, NiO, Ni 2 O 3 , Cu, CuCl, CuBr, CuI, CuCl 2 ·nH 2 O, CuBr 2 , CuF 2 , CuSO 4 ·nH 2 O, Cu(NO 3 ) 2 ·nH 2 O, Cu(OAc) 2 ·nH 2 O, Cu(ClO 4 ) 2 ·nH 2 O, Cu(OH) 2 , Cu(OCH 3 ) 2 , Cu 3 (PO 4 ) 2 ·nH 2 O, CuO, Cu 2 O, Cu(acac) 2 , Ru, Ru 3 (CO) 12 , RuCl 2 (PPh 3 ) 3 , RuCl 3 ·nH 2 O, RuO 2 ·nH 2 O, RuO 4 , Os, OsCl 3 ·nH 2 O and OSO 4 , wherein n is usually an integer of 0-12. Preferred among them are iron-containing catalysts and copper-containing catalysts, which cause little environmental pollution. These catalysts may also be used as a mixture thereof or after being supported on heteropoly-acids, silica gel, carbon powders, polymers, etc. The amount of the catalyst to be used is not particularly limited, but is usually in the range of 0.01-200% by mole, preferably 0.1-5% by mole, relative to the alkane or the benzene derivative. Specific examples of the aldehyde used in the present invention include formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, butanal, pentanal, hexanal, heptanal, decanal, 2-methylpropanal, cyclohexanecarboxaldehyde, isovaleraldehyde, pivalaldehyde, benzaldehyde, p-chlorobenzaldehyde, m-chlorobenzaldehyde, p-tolualdehyde, p-anisaldehyde, paraformaldehyde, paraldehyde, etc. Preferred among them are acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, butanal and heptanal, which are easily available and have a low molecular weight. The amount of the aldehyde to be used is not critical but usually in the range of 0.1-1000% by mole, preferably 1-400% by mole, relative to the alkane or the benzene derivative. The addition of the proton source is particularly effective when the transition metal catalyst is a simple substance or a heterogeneous catalyst. Specific examples of the proton source include formic acid, acetic acid, monochloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, monobromoacetic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, propanoic acid, butyric acid, heptanoic acid, decanoic acid, benzoic acid, p-toluenesulfonic acid, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen bromide, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, water, etc., preferred of which are acetic acid and benzoic acid. Though the amount of the proton source to be used is not particularly restricted, it is usually in the range of 1-100 equivalents relative to the transition metal catalyst. The reaction of the present invention may be conducted also in the presence of a solvent. As examples of solvents which may be used, mention may be made of halogenated hydrocarbons such as dichloromethane, chloroform, ethylene dichloride, etc., esters such as ethyl acetate, etc., nitriles such as acetonitrile, etc., and aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, xylene, monochlorobenzene, dichlorobenzene, etc. The oxygen used in the present invention may be, besides oxygen, also air. The method of supplying the oxygen is not particularly limited, and the reaction is usually conducted while blowing oxygen or air into the reaction system or under an atmosphere of oxygen or air, either at normal pressure or under applied pressure (<20 atm for oxygen, <100 atm for air). The reaction temperature is usually in the range from 20°C to 80°C, preferably in the range from 20°C to the reflux temperature of the reaction mixture. The reaction time is not particularly limited. The reaction mixture may be analyzed by suitable means such as gas chromatography (GC) and the point at which the rate of formation of the intended alcohol or ketone levels off may be taken as the end point of the reaction. The reaction time is usually in the range from 1 hour to 1 week. In the present reaction, the aldehyde used is converted into the corresponding carboxylic acid and hence can be easily separated from the intended product. After completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture is washed with an aqueous sodium sulfite solution and aqueous sodium hydrogen carbonate solution, then concentrated and, if necessary and desired, subjected to additional operations such as rectification, whereby the intended alcohol or ketone can be obtained. According to the process of the present invention, alcohols or ketones can be obtained under mild conditions and in one step from alkanes or alkylbenzene derivatives through the reaction thereof with oxygen by using an easily available transition metal catalyst and an aldehyde in the presence of a proton source, so that the process is valuable also from the industrial point of view. The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to Examples, but the invention is in no way limited thereto. Examples 1 - 26 To a mixture of 272 mg of adamantane, 3% by mole (relative to adamantane) of a catalyst, 4 mg of acetic acid and 10 mℓ of dichloromethane was added dropwise a solution of 897 mg of cyclohexane-carboxaldehyde in 2 mℓ of dichloromethane under an oxygen atmosphere at 25°C over a period of 2 hours, and the resulting mixture was stirred at that temperature for further 15 hours. The reaction mixture obtained was analyzed by GC to obtain the results shown in Table 1. The products formed were subjected to quantitative determination by means of GC-IS (internal standard) method and identification of structure by means of GC-MS (mass spectrometry). Example Catalyst Conv, % Yield, % 1-adamantanol 2-adamantanol 2-adamantanone total 1 Cr 22 15 (68) 0.6(3) 0.8(4) 16 (74) 2 CrCl 2 17 11 (63) 0.7(4) 1.2(7) 13 (74) 3 Mn 23 16 (68) 1.8(8) 1.2(5) 18 (81) 4 Fe 25 18 (70) 1.3(5) 1.1(4) 20 (79) 5 FeCl 2 ·4H 2 O 16 12 (78) 1.3(9) 1.2(8) 15 (95) 6 FeBr 2 ·2H 2 O 14 10 (75) 0.6(5) 1.3(10) 12 (90) 7 FeCl 3 ·6H 2 O 21 11 (51) 1.6(8) 1.5(7) 14 (65) 8 Fe(OAc) 3 28 22 (78) 1.5(5) 1.5(5) 25 (89) 9 FeSO 4 ·7H 2 O 8.1 6.1(75) 0.4(5) 0.2(3) 6.7(83) 10 Fe 2 O 3 10 7.6(77) 0.6(6) 0.4(4) 8.6(87) 11 Fe(acac) 3 20 16 (78) 1.1(6) 1.0(5) 18 (88) 12 Co 18 14 (77) 1.8(10) 0.9(5) 17 (92) 13 CoCl 2 46 7.0(15) 0.5(1) 0.4(1) 7.9(17) 14 Co(acac) 2 ·2H 2 O 14 9.0(66) 0.7(6) 0.8(6) 11 (78) 15 Co(acac) 3 11 8.8(77) 0.8(7) 0.9(8) 11 (91) 16 Ni 21 16 (76) 1.8(9) 0.3(2) 18 (87) 17 NiCl 2 18 10 (55) 4.2(23) 0.3(2) 15 (80) 18 Ni(acac) 2 17 15 (84) 1.2(7) 0.7(4) 17 (95) 19 Cu 25 21 (82) 1.2(5) 0.1(1) 22 (88) 20 CuCl 25 20 (83) 1.4(6) 0.3(1) 22 (89) 21 CuCl 2 9.0 7.6(85) 0.5(5) 0.2(2) 8.3(92) 22 Ru 15 11 (72) 1.1(7) 0.8(5) 13 (84) 23 Rucl 2 (PPh 3 ) 3 11 8.3(76) 0.6(5) 0.6(6) 9.5(86) 24 RuCl 3 ·3H 2 O 23 18 (77) 0.9(4) 1.0(5) 19 (85) 25 RuO 2 15 8.7(59) 0.6(4) 0.3(2) 10 (65) 26 Os 9.2 7.5(82) 0.5(6) 0.3(4) 8.3(91) Examples 27 - 36 (for reference) A mixture of 272 mg of adamantane, 3% by mole (relative to adamantane) of a catalyst, 264 mg of acetaldehyde and 12 mℓ of dichloromethane was stirred under an oxygen atmosphere at 25°C for 17 hours. The reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the results shown in Table 2. (for reference) Example Catalyst Conv, % Yield, % 1-adamantanol 2-adamantanol 2-adamantanone total 27 Cu 27 22 (80) 1.1(4) 0.4(2) 23 (86) 28 CuCl 20 16 (81) 0.9(5) 0.3(2) 17 (87) 29 Cu 2 O 26 22 (85) 0.9(4) 0.0 23 (89) 30 CuCl 2 4.0 4.0(99) 0.0 0.0 4.0(99) 31 Cu(OAc) 2 26 21 (83) 1.0(4) 0.0 22 (87) 32 Cu(HCOO) 2 19 16 (85) 0.8(4) 0.4(2) 18 (91) 33 Cu(OH) 2 29 25 (87) 1.5(5) 0.9(3) 28 (95) 34 Cu(OCH 3 ) 2 32 24 (75) 1.3(4) 1.1(4) 26 (83) 35 CuO 10 9.9(99) 0.0 0.0 9.9(99) 36 Cu(acac) 2 26 21 (81) 0.9(3) 0.0 23 (86) Examples 37 - 67 A solution of 897 mg of cyclohexanecarboxaldehyde in 2 mℓ of dichloromethane was added dropwise to a mixture of 212 mg of ethylbenzene, 1% by mole (relative to ethylbenzene) of a catalyst, 1.2 mg of acetic acid and 10 mℓ of dichloromethane under an oxygen atmosphere at 25°C over a period of 2 hours, and the mixture was stirred at that temperature for further 15 hours. The resulting reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the results shown in Table 3. The products formed were subjected to quantitative determination by means of GC-IS method and identification of structure by means of GC-MS. Example Catalyst Conv, % Yield of acetophenone, % 37 CrCl 2 10 6.5(64) 38 CrCl 3 ·6H 2 O 12 8.8(73) 39 Cr(OAc) 3 ·H 2 O 14 11 (78) 40 Cr(acac) 3 12 9.1(76) 41 MnCl 2 ·4H 2 O 15 11 (73) 42 Mn(OAc) 2 ·4H 2 O 14 10 (71) 43 Mn(OAc) 3 ·nH 2 O 14 10 (71) 44 Mn(acac) 2 ·4H 2 O 15 11 (72) 45 Mn(acac) 3 ·2H 2 O 13 11 (85) 46 Fe 15 10 (67) 47 FeCl 2 ·4H 2 O 10 7.5(78) 48 FeBr 2 ·2H 2 O 8.4 6.0(71) 49 FeCl 3 ·6H 2 O 13 7.0(56) 50 FeSO 4 ·7H 2 O 4.9 3.4(69) 51 Fe 2 O 3 6.0 4.3(72) 52 Fe(acac) 3 12 9.0(75) 53 CoCl 2 28 4.0(14) 54 Co(OAc) 2 ·4H 2 O 14 10 (71) 55 Co(acac) 2 ·2H 2 O 8.4 5.5(65) 56 Co(acac) 3 6.6 5.5(83) 57 NiCl 2 11 7.5(69) 58 Ni(OAc) 2 ·4H 2 O 10 7.6(76) 59 Ni(acac) 2 10 8.5(83) 60 Cu 16 13 (80) 61 CuCl 16 13 (80) 62 Cu(OAc) 2 15 12 (81) 63 RuCl 2 (PPh 3 ) 3 6.6 4.8(73) 64 RuCl 3 ·3H 2 O 14 9.5(69) 65 RuO 2 9.0 5.0(56) 66 Os 5.5 4.2(76) 67 OsCl 3 ·3H 2 O 4.3 3.9(91) Examples 68 - 71 To a mixture of 272 mg of adamantane, 3.4 mg of Fe, 4 mg of acetic acid and 10 mℓ of dichloromethane a solution of 4 equivalents (relative to adamantane) of an aldehyde in 2 ml of dichloromethane was added dropwise under an oxygen atmosphere at 25°C over a period of 2 hours, and the mixture was stirred at that temperature for further 15 hours. The resulting reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the results shown in Table 4. Example Aldehyde Conv, % Yield, % 1-adamantanol 2-adamantanol 2-adamantanone total 68 acetaldehyde 25 12(49) 2.0(8) 1.7(6) 16(64) 69 haptanal 33 25(75) 1.9(6) 1.6(5) 28(86) 70 2-methylpropanal 34 25(73) 1.6(5) 1.9(6) 28(84) 71 benzaldehyde 25 17(68) 0.9(4) 0.5(2) 18(73) Examples 72 - 75 The same procedures as in Example 68 were followed except for using 16 mg of RuCl 3 ·3H 2 O in place of 3.4 mg of Fe to obtain the results shown in Table 5. Example Aldehyde Conv, % Yield, % 1-adamantanol 2-adamantanol 2-adamantanone total 72 acetaldehyde 32 21(64) 0.5(1) 1.1(3) 22(68) 73 heptanal 30 23(76) 0.9(3) 1.0(3) 25(82) 74 decanal 18 14(77) 0.5(3) 0.8(4) 16(84) 75 2-methylpropanal 32 21(68) 1.1(3) 1.1(4) 24(75) Examples 76 - 80 (for reference) A mixture of 272 mg of adamantane, 5.9 mg of Cu(OH) 2 , 3 equivalents (relative to adamantane) of an aldehyde and 12 mℓ of dichloromethane was stirred under an oxygen atmosphere at 25°C for 17 hours. The resulting reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the results shown in Table 6. (for reference) Example Aldehyde Conv, % Yield, % 1-adamantanol 2-adamantanol 2-adamantanone total 76 butanal 25 20(80) 1.3(5) 0.0 22(85) 77 2-methylpropanal 22 18(83) 1.3(6) 0.5(2) 20(92) 78 cyclohexane-carboxaldehyde 17 14(79) 1.2(7) 0.0 15(87) 79 pivalaldehyde 13 11(90) 1.0(8) 0.3(2) 13(100) 80 benzaldehyde 29 21(74) 1.9(7) 0.0 23(81) Examples 81 - 83 A solution of 914 mg of heptanal in 2 mℓ of a solvent was added dropwise to a mixture of 272 mg of adamantane, 16 mg of RuCl 3 ·3H 2 O, 4 mg of acetic acid and 10 mℓ of the solvent under an oxygen atmosphere at 25°C over a period of 2 hours, and the mixture was stirred at that temperature for further 15 hours. The resulting reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the results shown in Table 7. Example Solvent Conv, % Yield, % 1-adamantanol 2-adamantanol 2-adamantanone total 81 ethyl acetate 18 14 (81) 1.4(8) 1.6(9) 17 (98) 82 acetonitrile 8.4 7.2(86) 0.5(6) 0.6(7) 8.3(99) 83 benzene 5.0 2.4(48) 0.0 0.0 2.4(48) Examples 84 - 87 A solution of heptanal in 2 mℓ of dichloromethane was added dropwise to a mixture of 272 mg of adamantane, 3.4 mg of Fe, 4 mg of acetic acid and 10 mℓ of dichloromethane under an oxygen atmosphere at 25°C over a period of 2 hours, and the mixture was stirred at that temperature for further 15 hours. The reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the results shown in Table 8. Example Equivalent of heptanal (vs.adamantane) Conv, % Yield, % 1-adamantanol 2-adamantanol 2-adamantanone total 84 1 19 13(71) 1.2(6) 2.0(5) 17(82) 85 2 30 22(76) 1.6(5) 1.6(5) 26(86) 86 3 32 24(74) 2.0(6) 1.6(5) 28(86) 87 5 31 21(67) 1.7(5) 1.4(5) 24(77) Examples 88 - 90 The same procedures as in Example 84 were followed except for using 16 mg of RuCl 3 ·3H 2 O in place of 3.4 mg of Fe to obtain the results shown in Table 9. Example Equivalent of heptanal (vs.adamantane) Conv, % Yield, % 1-adamantanol 2-adamantanol 2-adamantanone total 88 2 23 18(78) 0.9(4) 0.9(4) 20(86) 89 3 35 27(78) 1.1(3) 1.2(4) 29(85) 90 5 28 20(72) 0.7(2) 0.8(3) 22(77) Examples 91 - 92 A solution of 914 mg of heptanal in 2 mℓ of dichloromethane was added dropwise to a mixture of 272 mg of adamantane, Fe, acetic acid and 10 mℓ of dichloromethane under an oxygen atmosphere at 25°C over a period of 2 hours, and the mixture was stirred at that temperature for further 15 hours. The reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the results shown in Table 10. Example Equivalent each of heptanal (vs.adamantane) Conv, % Yield, % 1-adamantanol 2-adamantanol 2-adamantanone total 91 0.10 31 24(77) 1.9(6) 1.6(5) 28(88) 92 0.01 36 27(75) 2.0(6) 1.7(5) 31(86) Examples 93 - 94 The same procedures as in Example 91 were followed except for using RuCl 3 ·3H 2 O in place of Fe and altering the amount of heptanal to 685 mg, to obtain the results shown in Table 11. Example Equivalent each of RuCl 3 ·3H 2 O and acetic acid (vs.adamantane) Conv, % Yield, % 1-adamantanol 2-adamantanol 2-adamantanone total 93 0.10 35 26(75) 1.7(5) 1.9(5) 30(85) 94 0.01 28 19(71) 0.9(3) 1.0(4) 21(78) Examples 95 - 96 A solution of 914 mg of heptanal in 2 mℓ of dichloromethane was added dropwise to a mixture of 272 mg of adamantane, 1.1 mg of Fe, acetic acid and 10 mℓ of dichloromethane under an oxygen atmosphere at 25°C over a period of 2 hours, and the mixture was stirred at that temperature for further 15 hours. The reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the results shown in Table 12. Example Equivalent of acetic acid (vs.Fe) Conv, % Yield, % 1-adamantanol 2-adamantanol 2-adamantanone total 95 100 26 21(79) 1.5(6) 1.3(5) 23(90) 96 10 36 26(72) 1.9(5) 1.7(5) 29(82) Examples 97 - 99 The same procedures as in Example 95 were followed except for using 16 mg of RuCl 3 ·3H 2 O in place of 1.1 mg of Fe and altering the amount of heptanal to 685 mg, to obtain the results shown in Table 13. Example Equivalent of acetic acid (vs.RuCl 3 ·3H 2 O) Conv, % Yield, % 1-adamantanol 2-adamantanol 2-adamantanone total 97 100 29 20(68) 1.3(4) 1.4(5) 23(78) 98 10 34 22(63) 1.3(4) 1.4(4) 24(71) 99 0 31 22(70) 1.3(4) 1.5(5) 25(79) Examples 100 - 102 A solution of 914 mg of heptanal in 2 mℓ of dichloromethane was added dropwise to a mixture of 272 mg of adamantane, 1.1 mg of Fe, 1% by mole (relative to adamantane) of an acid and 10 mℓ of dichloromethane under an oxygen atmosphere at 25°C over a period of 2 hours, and the mixture was stirred at that temperature for further 15 hours. The reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the results shown in Table 14. Example Acid Conv, % Yield, % 1-adamantanol 2-adamantanol 2-adamantanone total 100 trifluoroacetic acid 22 14 (65) 0.7(3) 0.7(3) 16 (72) 101 decanoic acid 7.0 5.4(78) 0.3(4) 0.2(3) 5.9(85) 102 p-toluene-sulfonic acid monohydrate 19 15 (80) 0.7(4) 0.5(3) 16 (86) Examples 103 - 106 A mixture of 272 mg of adamantane, 5.9 mg of Cu(OH) 2 , 264 mg of acetaldehyde, 3% by mole (relative to adamantane) of an acid and 12 mℓ of dichloromethane was stirred under an oxygen atmosphere at 25°C for 17 hours. The reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the results shown in Table 15. Example Acid Conv, % Yield, % 1-adamantanol 2-adamantanol 2-adamantanone total 103 acetic acid 25 23(90) 0.9(4) 0.0 24(93) 104 decanoic acid 22 19(84) 0.8(4) 0.0 20(88) 105 benzoic acid 28 23(85) 1.1(4) 0.0 25(89) 106 (water) 20 16(80) 0.8(4) 0.2(1) 17(84) Examples 107 - 112 A solution of 914 mg of heptanal in 2 mℓ of dichloromethane was added dropwise to a mixture of 2 mmoles of an alkane, 1.1 mg of Fe, 1.2 mg of acetic acid and 10 mℓ of dichloromethane under an oxygen atmosphere at 25°C over a period of 2 hours, and the mixture was stirred at that temperature for further 15 hours. The reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the results shown in Table 16. The products formed were subjected to quantitative determination by means of GC-IS method and identification of structure by means of GC-MS. Example Alkane Conv, % Product Yield. % 107 n-heptane 5.0 heptanols 1.1(21) heptanones 3.4(69) 108 n-decane 4.8 decanols 1.2(24) decanones 3.0(63) 109 cyclohexane 11 cyclohexanol 3.0(29) cyclohexanone 7.1(66) 110 cyclooctane 15 cyclooctanol 1.8(12) cyclooctanone 12(76) 111 cyclododecane 24 cyclo<-> 4.4(18) dodecanol cyclododecanone 19(78) 112 methylcyclohexane 16 methylcyclohexanols 10(64) methylcyclohexanones 3.1(20) Examples 113 - 117 The same procedures as in Examples 107 - 112 were followed except for using 16 mg of RuCl 3 ·3H 2 O in place of 1.1 mg of Fe and altering the amount of heptanal to 685 mg, to obtain the results shown in Table 17. Example Alkane Conv, % Product Yield, % 113 n-heptane 0.8 heptanols trace heptanones 0.5(72) 114 n-decane 2.0 decanols 0.9(41) decanones 0.9(44) 115 cyclohexane 3.1 cyclohexanol 1.1(36) cyclohexanone 1.6(53) 116 cyclooctane 8.4 cyclooctanol 1.8(21) cyclooctanone 5.2(63) 117 methylcyclohexane 11 methylcyclohexanols 7.5(66) methylcyclohexanones 2.6(23) Examples 118 - 122 A solution of 152 mg of heptanal in 2 mℓ of dichloromethane was added dropwise to a mixture of 13.3 mmoles of an alkane, 0.6 mg of Fe, 0.6 mg of acetic acid and 10 mℓ of dichloromethane under an oxygen atmosphere at 25°C over a period of 2 hours, and the mixture was stirred at that temperature for further 15 hours. The reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the results shown in Table 18. Example Alkane Conv, % Product Yield, % 118 n-heptane 6.7 heptanols 2.2(33) heptanones 8.5(63) 119 n-decane 6.5 decanols 2.3(37) decanones 8.0(61) 120 cyclohexane 14 cyclohexanol 6.6(48) cyclohexanone 13(48) 121 cyclooctane 17 cyclooctanol 6.0(36) cyclooctanone 20(59) 122 methylcyclohexane 63 methylcyclohexanols 46(73) methylcyclohexanones 27(21) Example 123 The same procedures as in Example 118 were followed except for using 2.6 mg of RuCl 3 ·3H 2 O in place of 0.6 mg of Fe to obtain the following results. Conversion : 70% (based on heptanal) Methylcyclohexanols yield : 61% (based on heptanal), 88% (based on converted methylcyclohexane), 1-ol : 2-ol : 3-ol : 4-ol = 91 : 2 : 5 : 2. Methylcyclohexanones yield : 12% (based on heptanal), 8% (based on converted methylcyclohexane), 2-one : 3-one : 4-one = 23 : 58 : 19. Examples 124 - 128 A solution of 152 mg of heptanal in 2 mℓ of ethyl acetate was added to a mixture of 13.3 mmoles of an alkane, 2.6 mg of RuCl 3 ·3H 2 O, 0.6 mg of acetic acid and 10 mℓ of ethyl acetate under an oxygen atmosphere at 50°C, and the mixture was stirred at that temperature for 15 hours. The reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the results shown in Table 19. Example Alkane Conv, % Product Yield, % 124 n-heptane 3.8 heptanols 0.9(30) heptanones 5.1(68) 125 n-decane 6.1 decanols 1.4(24) decanones 9.1(74) 126 cyclohexane 6.6 cyclohexanol 2.4(35) cyclohexanone 8.1(61) 127 cyclooctane 16 cyclooctanol 2.7(16) cyclooctanone 27(82) 128 methylcyclohexane 78 methylcyclohexanols 53(67) methylcyclohexanones 45(29) Examples 129 - 134 A solution of 352 mg of acetaldehyde in 2 mℓ of dichloromethane was added dropwise to a mixture of 2 mmoles of an alkane, 1.1 mg of Fe, 1.2 mg of acetic acid and 10 mℓ of dichloromethane under an oxygen atmosphere at 25°C over a period of 2 hours, and the mixture was stirred at that temperature for further 15 hours. The reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the results shown in Table 20. Example Alkane Conv, % Product Yield, % 129 n-heptane 5.8 heptanols 1.0(17) heptanones 4.8(82) 130 n-decane 6.0 decanols 0.5(9) decanones 5.1(87) 131 cyclohexane 8.0 cyclohexanol 2.6(33) cyclohexanone 5.0(62) 132 cyclooctane 14 cyclooctanol 1.2(9) cyclooctanone 11(81) 133 methylcyclohexane 11 methylcyclohexanols 5.1(47) methylcyclohexanones 4.7(42) 134 adamantane 35 adamantanol 27(77) 2-adamantanone 2.7(8) Examples 135 - 140 A mixture of 2 mmoles of an alkane, 5.9 mg of Cu(OH) 2 , 1.2 mg of acetic acid, 264 mg of acetaldehyde and 12 mℓ of dichloromethane was stirred under an oxygen atmosphere at 25°C for 17 hours. The reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the results shown in Table 21. Example Alkane Conv, % Product Yield, % 135 n-heptane 3.2 heptanols 0.5(16) heptanones 2.7(84) 136 n-decane 4.6 decanols 0.7(15) decanones 3.8(83) 137 cyclohexane 4.5 cyclohexanol 1.7(38) cyclohexanone 2.6(58) 138 cyclooctane 9.9 cyclooctanol 0.9(9) cyclooctanone 8.7(88) 139 cyclododecane 12 cyclododecanol 3.7(31) cyclododecanone 7.9(67) 140 methylcyclohexane 8.6 methylcyclohexanols 5.8(67) methylcyclohexanones 2.5(29) Examples 141 - 145 A solution of 914 mg of heptanal in 2 mℓ of dichloromethane was added dropwise to a mixture of 2 mmoles of a benzene derivative, 1.1 mg of Fe, 1.2 mg of acetic acid and 10 mℓ of dichloromethane under an oxygen atmosphere at 25°C over a period of 2 hours, and the mixture was stirred at that temperature for further 15 hours. The reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the results shown in Table 22. The structure of the product formed was indentified by means of GC-MS. Example Substrate Conv, % Product Yield, % 141 ethylbenzene 20 1-phenylethanol acetophenone 3.3(16) 16(79) 142 indan 31 1-indanol 1-indanone 7.9(25) 18(59) 143 p-ethyltoluene 49 1-(p-tolyl)ethanol 4'-methylacetophenone 10(21) 26(54) 144 p-chloroethylbenzene 15 1-(4'-chlorophenyl)ethanol 1-(4'-chlorophenyl)acetophenone 3.6(25) 11(73) 145 m-chloroethylbenzene 8.8 1-(3'-chlorophenyl)ethanol 1-(3'-chlorophenyl)acetophenone 2.6(29) 6.2(71) Examples 146 - 147 The same procedures as in Example 141 or 142 were followed except for using 352 mg of acetaldehyde in place of 914 mg of heptanal to obtain the following results. Example Substrate Conv, % Product Yield, % 146 ethylbenzene 26 1-phenylethanol 2.1(8) acetophenone 14(56) 147 indan 12 1-indanol 2.1(18) 1-indanone 6.3(54) Example 148 A solution of 152 mg of heptanal in 2 mℓ of ethyl acetate was added dropwise to a mixture of 1.412 g of ethylbenzene, 2.6 mg of RuCl 3 ·3H 2 O, 0.6 mg of acetic acid and 10 mℓ of ethyl acetate under an oxygen atmosphere at 50°C over a period of 2 hours, and the mixture was stirred at that temperature for further 15 hours. The reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the following results. Conversion : 48% (based on heptanal) 1-Phenylethanol yield : 15% (based on heptanal), 32% (based on converted ethylbenzene). Acetophenone yield : 58% (based on heptanal), 61% (based on converted ethylbenzene). Example 149 A mixture of 20.2 g of cyclohexane, 3.4 mg of Fe, 3.6 mg of acetic acid and 1.055 g of paraldehyde was stirred under an oxygen atmosphere at 70°C for 1 week. The reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the following results. Cyclohexanol yield : 5.8% (based on paraldehyde), turnover number : 23 Cyclohexanone yield : 29.3% (based on paraldehyde), turnover number : 102 Example 150 The same procedures as in Example 149 were followed except for using 2.741 g of heptanal in place of paraldehyde and altering the amount of acetic acid to 360 mg, to obtain the following results. Cyclohexanol yield : 9.6% (based on heptanal), turnover number : 38 Cyclohexanone yield : 22.5% (based on heptanal), turnover number : 90 Example 151 The same procedures as in Example 149 were followed except for using 1.057 g of acetaldehyde in place of paraldehyde and altering the amount of acetic acid to 360 mg, to obtain the following results. Cyclohexanol yield : 3.4% (based on acetaldehyde) turnover number : 14 Cyclohexanone yield : 8.7% (based on acetaldehyde) turnover number : 35 Example 152 A mixture of 67.3 g of cyclohexane, 11 mg of Fe, 12 mg of acetic acid and 3.52 g of acetaldehyde was placed in an autoclave and stirred under an applied oxygen pressure (8 kg/cm 2 ) at 70°C for 24 hours. The reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the following results. Cyclohexane conversion : 23.1% (based on acetaldehyde) Cyclohexanol yield : 9.1% (based on acetaldehyde), 39.5% (based on converted cyclohexane) turnover number : 36 Cyclohexanone yield : 27.4% (based on acetaldehyde), 59.5% (based on converted cyclohexane) turnover number : 110 Example 153 A mixture of 6.73 g of cyclohexane, 1.1 mg of Fe, 1.2 mg of acetic acid and 352 mg of acetaldehyde was placed in an autoclave and stirred under an applied air pressure (10 kg/cm 2 ) at 70°C for 5 days. The reaction mixture was analyzed by GC to obtain the following results. Cyclohexane conversion : 20.1% (based on acetaldehyde), Cyclohexanol yield : 7.7% (based on acetaldehyde) 38.3% (based on converted cyclohexane) turnover number : 31 Cyclohexanone yield : 24.8% (based on acetaldehyde), 61.7% (based on converted cyclohexane) turnover number : 99

Claims: A process for producing the corresponding alcohols or ketones derived from the alkanes defined below, or alcohols represented by the formula (3) wherein R 1 , R 2 , X and m are as defined below, or by the formula (4) wherein X, Y, Z and m are as defined below, or ketones represented by the formula (5) wherein R 1 , X and m are as defined below, or by the formula (6) wherein X, Z and m are as defined below, which comprises reacting a straight-chain, branched-chain or cyclic alkane of 1-20 carbon atoms or a benzene derivative represented by the formula (1) wherein R 1 and R 2 may be the same or different and each denote a hydrogen atom, (C 1 -C 20 )alkyl group, alkyl group substituted with a halogen, alkoxy or phenoxy, phenyl group unsubstituted or substituted with a halogen, alkyl, alkoxy or phenoxy, or phenylalkyl group unsubstituted or substituted with a halogen, alkyl, alkoxy or phenoxy, or they conjointly as -CHR 1 (R 2 ) in its entirety denote a (C 3 -C 12 )cycloalkyl group unsubstituted or substituted with a halogen, alkyl, alkoxy, phenyl or phenoxy; X may be the same or different and denotes a hydrogen atom, halogen atom, (C 1 -C 6 )alkyl group, (C 1 -C 6 )alkoxy group, phenyl group or phenoxy group; and m denotes 1 or 2, or by the formula (2) wherein Y denotes a hydrogen atom, halogen atom, (C 1 -C 6 )alkyl group, (C 1 -C 6 )alkoxy group, phenyl group or phenoxy group; Z denotes a group of -CH 2 CH 2 -, -CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 -or X and X' may be the same or different and each denote a hydrogen atom, halogen atom, (C 1 -C 6 )alkyl group, (C 1 -C 6 )alkoxy group, phenyl group or phenoxy group; and m and n each independently denote 1 or 2, with oxygen in the presence of a proton source and in the presence of a transition metal catalyst and an aldehyde at a reaction temperature in the range of 20° to 80°C. The process according to Claim 1 wherein the transition metal catalyst is a chromium-containing catalyst, manganese-containing catalyst, iron-containing catalyst, cobalt-containing catalyst, nickel-containing catalyst, copper-containing catalyst, ruthenium-containing catalyst or osmium-containing catalyst. The process according to Claim 2 wherein the chromium-containing catalyst is Cr, CrCl 2 ·nH 2 O, CrCl 3 ·nH 2 O, Cr(OAc) 3 ·nH 2 O or Cr(acac) 3 . The process according to Claim 2 wherein the manganese-containing catalyst is Mn, MnCl 2 ·nH 2 O, Mn(OAc) 2 ·nH 2 O, Mn(OAc) 3 ·nH 2 O, Mn(acac) 2 ·nH 2 O or M(acac) 3 ·nH 2 O. The process according to Claim 2 wherein the iron-containing catalyst is Fe, FeCl 2 ·nH 2 O, FeCl 3 ·nH 2 O, Fe(OAc) 3 or Fe(acac) 3 . The process according to Claim 2 wherein the cobalt-containing catalyst is Co, CoCl 2 ·nH 2 O, Co(OAc) 2 ·nH 2 O, Co(acac) 2 ·nH 2 O or Co(acac) 3 ·nH 2 O. The process according to Claim 2 wherein the nickel-containing catalyst is Ni, NiCl 2 ·nH 2 O, Ni(OAc) 2 ·nH 2 O or Ni(acac) 2 ·nH 2 O. The process according to Claim 2 wherein the copper-containing catalyst is Cu, CuCl, Cu(OAc) 2 ·nH 2 O, Cu(OH) 2 , Cu(OCH 3 ) 2 , Cu 2 O or Cu(acac) 2 . The process according to Claim 2 wherein the ruthenium-containing catalyst is Ru, RuCl 3 ·nH 2 O or RuO 2 . The process according to Claim 2 wherein the osmium-containing catalyst is Os or OsCl 3 ·nH 2 O. The process according to any one of Claims 1 to 10 wherein aldehyde is formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, butanal, pentanal, hexanal, heptanal, decanal, 2-methylpropanal, cyclohexanecarboxaldehyde, isovaleraldehyde, pivalaldehyde, benzaldehyde, p-chlorobenzaldehyde, m-chlorobenzaldehyde, p-tolualdehyde, p-anisaldehyde, paraformaldehyde or paraldehyde. The process according to any one of Claims 1 to 11 wherein proton source is formic acid, acetic acid, monochloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, monobromoacetic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, propanoic acid, butyric acid, heptanoic acid, decanoic acid, benzoic acid, p-toluenesulfonic acid, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen bromide, sulfuric acid, nitric acid or water. The process according to any one of Claims 1 to 12 wherein transition metal catalyst is used in an amount of 0.01-200% by mole relative to the alkane or the benzene derivative. The process according to any one of Claims 1 to 13 wherein aldehyde is used in an amount of 0.1-1000% by mole relative to the alkane or the benzene derivative. The process according to any one of Claims 1 to 14 wherein proton source is used in an amount of 1-100 equivalents relative to the transition metal catalyst. The process according to any one of Claims 1 to 15 wherein reaction temperature is from 20°C to the reflux temperature of the reaction mixture. The process according to any one of Claims 1 to 16 wherein reaction time is from 1 hour to 1 week. The process according to any one of Claims 1 to 17 wherein reaction is conducted without a solvent.

Inventors: MURAHASHI SHUN-ICHI, ODA YOSHIAKI, MURAHASHI, SHUN-ICHI, ODA, YOSHIAKI
Applicants: SUMITOMO CHEMICAL CO, SUMITOMO CHEMICAL COMPANY LIMITED
Application year: 1992
Main classification: C07C45
IPC codes: C07C45, C07C29