Benzyl carbonate with phenols

Substitution Reactions on Side Chains. Because the benzyl carbon is the most reactive site on the propanoid side chain, many substitution reactions occur at this position. Typically, substitution reactions occur by attack of a nucleophilic reagent on a benzyl carbon present in the form of a carbonium ion or a methine group in a quinonemethide stmeture. In a reversal of the ether cleavage reactions described, benzyl alcohols and ethers may be transformed to alkyl or aryl ethers by acid-catalyzed etherifications or transetherifications with alcohol or phenol. The conversion of a benzyl alcohol or ether to a sulfonic acid group is among the most important side chain modification reactions because it is essential to the solubilization of lignin in the sulfite pulping process (17). 

Consistent with this monooxygenase reaction stoichiometry, using 1802 in the reaction resulted in labeled phenol product. Also in line with methyl group migration is the observation that placement of four deuterium atoms in the two benzylic positions of the ligand in [Cu2(XYL—Me)]2+ (35b) resulted in retention of deuterium in the phenol product, whereas formation of -formaldehyde [167] indicates that this product originated from the other benzylic carbon in 35b. 

After debenzylation (Pd-C, cyclohexene) of the hypercores (e.g., 25) by transfer hydrogenation, they were treated with aryl branched, benzyl ether dendrons (Scheme 5.6) that were prepared by similar iterative transformations,1271 i.e., benzylic bromination and phenolic O-alkylation (See Section 5.4.2). Thus, hexaphenol core 27 was reacted with six equivalents of the benzylic bromide building block 28 to give the benzyloxy terminated dendrimer 29. Key features of these dendrimers include cores with flexible alkyl spacers and a three-directional, quaternary carbon branching center. 

Oxidation of hydrocarbons with dioxygen is more facile when the C-H bond is activated through aromatic or vinylic groups adjacent to it. The homolytic C-H bond dissociation energy decreases from ca. 100 kcal mol-1 (alkyl C-H) to ca. 85 kcal mol-1 (allylic and benzylic C-H), which makes a number of autoxidation processes feasible. The relative oxidizability is further increased by the presence of alkyl substituents on the benzylic carbon (see Table 4.6). The autoxidation of isopropylbenzene (Hock process, Fig. 4.49) accounts for the majority of the world production of phenol [131] ... 

Oxidation of a phenol to the corresponding ju-qninone nsing a copper catalyst takes place at room temperatnre nnder similar conditions as those nsed for alcohol oxidation, with O2 as oxidant. Likewise, hydroqninones (22) can be transformed to 3-alkoxy-/7-qninones (23) when reacted in the presence of an alcohol. In the case of 4-substituted phenols (24), polymer-based catalysts composed of ligands (e.g. PVBPy) that chelate copper have been used at elevated temperatures to selectively oxidize a benzylic carbon to yield 4-hydroxybenzaldehydes (25) in good yields. ... 

Solvolysis of electrophilic cyclopropanes with alcohols and phenols readily occurs as illustrated by the following examples of equations 166-168. It is worthwhile to note that methanolysis at 126 °C of ( + )-( ) methyl l-cyano-2-phenylcyclopropanecarboxylate (495) gives rise to (— )-(S)-methyl 2-cyano-4-methoxy-4-phenylbutanoate (496), indicating that the nucleophilic substitution reaction at the benzylic carbon of the cyclopropane proceeds with essentially complete inversion of configuration (equation 169). ... 

In contrast to many furan syntheses, this method uses 2-(2-hydroxyalkyl)phenoIs containing a leaving group at the benzylic carbon atom. Thus, 2-(I-isopropyl-thio-2-hydroxy)phenol cyclizes on heating with concentrated hydrochloric acid, but when 2-(2-hydroxyethyl)phenol was similarly treated, cyclization did not occur. When R = H, 2-unsubstituted benzofurans are obtained in good yield minor modifications were made in the synthesis of the 2-phenyl derivatives, and... 

Substitution reactions. Benzylation of phenols by benzyl methyl carbonates with Pd catalysis proceeds via transesterification and decarbonylation. Triarylmethanes are obtained from a reaction of benzhydryl carbonates with arylboronic acids. ... 

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