Dess–Martin oxidation

[1][2] It is named after the American chemists Daniel Benjamin Dess and James Cullen Martin who developed the periodinane reagent in 1983.

The reaction uses a hypervalent iodine reagent[2] similar to 2-iodoxybenzoic acid to selectively and mildly oxidize alcohols to aldehydes or ketones.

The reaction is commonly conducted in chlorinated solvents such as dichloromethane or chloroform.

It can be buffered with pyridine or sodium bicarbonate in order to protect acid-labile compounds.

The rate of oxidation can be increased by the addition of water to the reaction mixture.