Efficient Osmium/Rhenium-Catalyzed Dihydroxylation of Olefins with Hydrogen Peroxide under Acidic Conditions

Simple addition of citric acid confers great stability to the catalytically active osmium and rhenium species involved in a triple catalytic system utilizing aqueous hydrogen peroxide as the terminal oxidant. The resulting system is capable of dihydroxylating traditionally resistant olefins in high yields.