摘要:
To explore the electrosynthesis of coumarins, cyclic voltammetry and controlled-potential (bulk) electrolysis have been employed to investigate the reduction of the carbon-chlorine bond of five substituted phenyl 2-chloroacetates at silver cathodes in dimethylformamide (DMF) containing 0.10 M tetra-n-butylammonium tetrafluoroborate (TBABF(4)) as supporting electrolyte; the five substrates are 2-formylphenyl 2-chloroacetate (1a), 2-acetylphenyl 2-chloroacetate (2a), methyl 2-(2-chloroacetoxy)benzoate (3a), 2-formyl-5-methoxyphenyl 2-chloroacetate (4a), and 2-formyl-3,5-dimethoxyphenyl 2-chloroacetate (5a). We have examined (a) the effects of substituents on the benzene ring of the substrate as well as the nature of the aryl carbonyl moiety on the formation of the coumarin product and (b) the effect of solvent-namely, DMF, acetonitrile (CH3CN), benzonitrile (PhCN), and propylene carbonate (PC)-and substrate concentration on the yield of the coumarin. It was found that the most unsubstituted substrate (1a) afforded the highest yield (41%) of the desired coumarin in a DMF-TBABF(4) medium. A mechanistic scheme is proposed to account for the formation of the coumarin. Furthermore, the only other products seen in these reductions are 2-substituted phenols, which are precursors for synthesis of the various substrates. (C) 2014 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.