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Chemicals >> Oxidizing Agents > Peroxy acids

3-Chloroperoxybenzoic acid, MCPBA, meta-Chloroperbenzoic acid

MCPBA is a strong oxidizing agent, which is comparable with other peracids. Advantages of 3-chloroperbenzoic acid is its handling, because it is present as powder, which can be kept in the refrigerator. Nevertheless, material of purity >75% is rarely available commercially, since the pure compound is not particularly stable. Therefore the transport in airplanes with a content of > 72% is forbidden. Main pollution is 3-chlorobenzoic acid (10%) as well as for safety reasons water.

MCPBA is versatile applicable as peracid for use in laboratories. 

Main areas are the oxidation of

However, for reasons of the atomic economy, the use of MCPBA in production should be avoided. The research concentrates within this area rather on the use of hydrogen peroxide in connection with suitable catalysts or in situ generated, simpler peracids, such as peracetic acid or on potassium peroxymonosulfate (Oxone). In many reactions MCPBA with an outstanding reactivity is however more selective than hydrogen peroxide and other peracids.


Name Reactions


Prilezhaev Reaction


Rubottom Oxidation


Recent Literature


Use of a solvent with greater density than the fluorous phase is an alternative to the U-tube method in phase-vanishing reactions in cases where both reactants are less dense than the fluorous phase. This method has been successfully applied to the methylation of a phenol derivative with dimethyl sulfate and to the m-CPBA-induced epoxidation of alkenes, N-oxide formation from nitrogen-containing compounds, and S-oxide or sulfone formation from organic sulfides.
N. K. Jana, J. G. Verkade, Org. Lett., 2003, 5, 3787-3790.


N. K. Jana, J. G. Verkade, Org. Lett., 2003, 5, 3787-3790.


N. K. Jana, J. G. Verkade, Org. Lett., 2003, 5, 3787-3790.


The results of a highly diastereoselective epoxidation of allylic diols derived from Baylis-Hillman adducts are reported.
R. S. Porto, M. L. A. A. Vasconcellos, E. Ventura, F. Coelho, Synthesis, 2005, 2297-2306.


Several amides were obtained in high yields by an efficient method from the corresponding imines which are readily prepared from aldehydes. This procedure involves the oxidation of aldimines with m-CPBA and BF3·OEt2. In this reaction, the product is strongly influenced by the electron releasing capacity of the aromatic substituent (Ar).
G. An, M. Kim, J. Y. Kim, H. Rhee, Tetrahedron Lett., 2003, 44, 2183-2186.


An efficient conversion of cyclic acetals to their corresponding hydroxy alkyl esters was demonstrated. This oxidation using MCPBA gave products in good to excellent yields.
J. Y. Kim, H. Rhee, M. Kim, J. Korean Chem. Soc., 2002, 46, 479-483.


Various α-tosyloxyketones were efficiently prepared in high yields from the reaction of ketones with m-chloroperbenzoic acid and p-toluenesulfonic acid in the presence of a catalytic amount of iodobenzene.
Y. Yamamoto, H. Togo, Synlett, 2006, 798-800.