I'm looking for a reliable procedure for an undergraduate organic lab experiment: oxidation of diphenylmethanol to benzophenone. I am updating our lab experiments and was thinking about introducing phase transfer catalysis, linked to a 2-step Grignard synthesis ( bromobenzene --> phenylmagnesium bromide --> diphenylmethanol --> benzophenone). I have found a JChem Ed paper that suggests using ethyl acetate, tetrabutylammonium hydrogensulfate and commercial bleach (hypochlorite). The experiment looks promising, ( the article reports 70-85 % yield, after recrystallizing the product from hexane). I'm curious to know if anyone does this experiment with their students and what their experience has been.
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