Abstract: The dark reaction of cumene oxidation catalyzed by bipyridine ruthenium (II) complex [Ru(bpy)₃²⁺] was investigated.Superoxide could not oxidize cumene under similar condition.Addition of cumene peroxide could accelerate the oxidation process.Temperature effect on the rate of oxygen absorption indicates the free radical nature of the oxidation reaction.The result is particularly interesting because the catalytic oxidation property of [Ru(bpy)₃²⁺] in ground state is demonstrated while [Ru(bpy)₃²⁺] is known as a singlet oxygen sensitizer in its excited state.

Key words: bipyridine ruthenium, cumene, catalyzed oxidation, autooxidation