Selective oxidation of various aromatic alcohols to aldehydes has been carried out with very high conversion (90%) and selectivity (90%) for aldehydes using cyclopentadienyl molybdenum acetylide complex, CpMo (CO) 3 (CCPh)(1) as catalyst and hydrogen peroxide as environmentally benign oxidant. Water-soluble Mo acetylide oxo-peroxo species is formed in situ after reaction of 1 with aqueous hydrogen peroxide during the course of ...