Site-Specific Oxidation of (sp3)C-C(sp3)/H Bonds by NaNO2/HCl.

A site-specific oxidation of (sp3)C-C(sp3) and (sp3)C-H bonds in aryl alkanes by the use of NaNO2/HCl was explored. The method is chemical-oxidant-free, transition-metal-free, uses water as the solvent, and proceeds under mild conditions, making it valuable and attractive to synthetic organic chemistry.