A Study on the Catalytic Activity of Lithium Salts in the Liquid Phase Oxidation Reaction

The catalytic activity of alkali metal salts, in particular, that of lithium salts was studied in the homogeneous oxidation reactions. Among them, lithium salts were found to be most effective. In some lithium salts tested, lithium phosphate and formate were most active, although the activity was seriously affected by the reaction temperature. The remarkable activity of the salts might be attributed to the nature of the ion possessing an unoccupied 2s-orbital. Finally, the interaction between lithium salts and molecular oxygen was discussed.