A Visible-Light Driven Esterification of Aldehydes Catalyzed by VOSO₄

An esterification of the C-H bond of aldehydes promoted by oxidovanadium(IV) sulfate, (VOSO4)-O-IV, is reported. The process is mediated by visible-light, is carried out at room temperature, in absence of additives and using H2O2 as a benign oxidant. VOSO4 is a commercially available, earth-abundant metal (EAM(s)) salt, that does not require to be prepared. This report opens intriguing perspectives for the extended application of vanadium salts toward halogenation processes as well as for C-H activations and gives a contribution in the field of earth-abundant metals based-catalysis.