• In the presence of Pd catalysts and a base, aryl bromides can act as oxidizing agents for conversion of alcohols to aldehydes and ketones under mild conditions. While bromobenzene is effective for saturated secondary alcohols: Tetrahedron Lett., 1401 (1979), for unsaturated alcohols, arylation competes and 2-bromomesitylene was found to give superior results: Tetrahedron Lett., 22, 1801 (1981); J. Org. Chem., 48, 1286 (1983). See also: J. Org. Chem., 61, 2918 (1996), for a combined desilylation-oxidation technique.