Patent ID: 7351850

Claim:
A process for producing an α-oxocarbonyl compound represented by the following general formula (I) wherein R 1 represents an alkyl group, an alkenyl group, an alkynyl group, an aryl group or an aralkyl group, and these groups may have substituent(s); R 2 represents an alkyl group, an alkenyl group, an alkynyl group, an aryl group, an aralkyl group, an alkoxyl group, an aryloxy group, an aralkyloxy group or a group represented by the general formula —NR 3 R 4 (wherein R 3 and R 4 each independently represent hydrogen atoms or alkyl groups or are combined to form a ring), and these groups may have substituent(s), which comprises oxidizing an α-hydroxycarbonyl compound represented by the following general formula (II) wherein R 1 and R 2 are as defined above, with oxygen or air in the presence of a carboxylic acid and at least one vanadium compound selected from divanadium pentaoxide, divanadium trioxide, divanadium tetraoxide, ammonium metavanadate, sodium metavanadate, potassium metavanadate, triethoxyoxovanadium, tripropoxyoxovanadium, triisopropoxyoxovanadium, vanadium oxobis(acetylacetonate) and vanadium tris(acetylacetonate).