(Hexamethylbenzene)Ru catalysts for the Aldehyde-Water Shift reaction

The Aldehyde-Water Shift (AWS) reaction uses H2O as a benign oxidant to convert aldehydes to carboxylic acids, producing H2, a valuable reagent and fuel, as its sole byproduct. (Hexamethylbenzene)RuII complexes are demonstrated to have higher activity and selectivity (up to 95%) for AWS over disproportionation than previously reported catalysts.