A divergent and selective synthesis of ortho- and para-quinones from phenols
摘要:
We describe a divergent synthesis of substituted ortho- and para-quinones by catalytic aerobic oxygenation of phenols. Substituted quinones are omnipresent in chemistry and biology, but their synthesis frequently suffers from low efficiency and poor scope. Our methodology employs a catalytic aerobic di-functionalization of phenols to aryloxy-ortho-quinones. Regioselective substitution with an alcohol provides the alkoxy substituted ortho- or para-quinone, while hydrolysis affords the para-hydroxyquinone. These are mild and selective conditions for the synthesis of diversely substituted quinones from readily available phenol starting materials. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.