Ester formation. Fries rearrangement

A photochemical variant, the so-called photo-Fries rearrangement, proceeds via intermediate formation of radical species. Upon irradiation the phenyl ester molecules (1) are promoted into an excited state 11. By homolytic bond cleavage the radical-pair 12 is formed that reacts to the semiquinone 13, which in turn tautomerizes to the p-acylphenol 3. The corresponding ort/zo-derivative is formed in an analogous way ... 

Synthesis of the remaining half of the molecule starts with the formation of the monomethyl ether (9) from orcinol (8). The carbon atom that is to serve as the bridge is introduced as an aldehyde by formylation with zinc cyanide and hydrochloric acid (10). The phenol is then protected as the acetate. Successive oxidation and treatment with thionyl chloride affords the protected acid chloride (11). Acylation of the free phenol group in 7 by means of 11 affords the ester, 12. The ester is then rearranged by an ortho-Fries reaction (catalyzed by either titanium... 

Fries rearrangement.1 Rearrangement of phenyl esters with Lewis acids results in a mixture of ortho- and para-phenolic ketones. In contrast, reaction of an o-bromophenyl ester with sec-butyllithium results in exclusive formation of the orf/jo-phenolic ketone by an intramolecular acyl rearrangement.2... 

Ortho- and para-rearrangement and phenol formation on uv-irradiation of aryl esters are accompanied in several cases by decarboxylation,37,60,62,64,80,81 represented for 3,5-di-t-butylphenyl benzoate by the equation 118 -> 119-122. It was shown that this reaction cannot be sensitized,64 but the dramatic differences in product distribution could be observed by changing of the solvent.60,84 The results in Table VI indicate that in polar solvents the decarboxylation process is minimized while the formation of the photo-Fries rearrangement 119 is enhanced. The reverse appears to be true when nonpolar ethereal solvents are used. A considerable amount of biaryls are formed, and hence this reaction may prove useful for the preparation of biaryls and alkylary Is. 

From the point of view of quantum yields calculation, photo-Fries rearrangement, including phenol and products formation, represents a photoreaction (expressed by Eq. 3) in which all products absorb intensively in the absorption region of the starting phenyl ester A. 

Fries rearrangement of aromatic formate esters suggests that phenols are the major products (.24) obtained in the reaction. As poly(p-hydroxystyrene) is remarkably clear in the deep UV, it is likely that poly(p-formyloxystyrene) will not suffer from the same problem of photostabilization upon exposure as was the case with poly (p-acetoxystyrene). This expectation was confirmed by our study of the photo-Fries reaction of p-cresyl formate no ortho rearranged product was isolated after reaction while p-cresol and a small amount of starting material were obtained. 

Although there is evidence that chromone syntheses which proceed by the cyclization of phenyl esters under Friedel-Crafts conditions may involve a Fries rearrangement and hence require the formation of one bond adjacent to the heteroatom, syntheses of chromones from phenols will be considered together in this section. The Simonis reaction (530R(7)l)... 

It is pertinent to note that the ester (472) yields a chromone on treatment with hydrogen fluoride (54LA(587)16), suggesting the intervention of a Fries rearrangement once again. The same applies in the formation of 2-chlorochromone from phenyl 3,3-dichloropropenoate <60CR(250)2819). 

A minor variant of this, method makes use of the reaction between an anisole and a 3-halogenopropanoyl chloride (14CB2585). These same 3-substituted acid chlorides react with phenols to give esters and a Fries rearrangement is now a prerequisite of chromanone formation (58JCS1190). 

Phenolic ketones may be prepared by the Hoesch acylation reaction, which may be regarded as an extension of the Gattermann aldehyde synthesis (Section 6.10.1, p. 990). The procedure involves reaction of a nitrile with a phenol (or phenolic ether) in the presence of zinc chloride and hydrogen chloride best results are usually obtained with polyhydric phenols or their ethers, as for example in the preparation of phloroacetophenone (Expt 6.125). The formation of phenolic ketones by means of the Fries rearrangement of phenolic esters with aluminium chloride is discussed on p. 976. 

The photolysis of phenyl benzoate 8.88 is an example of the photo-Fries rearrangement, in which the acyl radical is created close to a phenoxy radical 8.89. The C—O bond is weakened by the presence of an electron in the n orbital of the ester conjugated system. The radical coupling then shows the usual selectivity for C—C bond formation, with the para selectivity in line with the coefficients of the SOMO of the phenoxy radical (see page 291). 

The Fries rearrangement proceeds via ionic intermediates but the exact mechanistic pathway (whether it is inter- or intramolecular) is still under debate. There are many reports in the literature that present evidence to support either of the pathways, but it appears that the exact route depends on the structure of the substrates and the reaction conditions. The scheme depicts the formation of an ortho-acylated phenol from a substituted phenolic ester in the presence of aluminum trihalide catalyst. The photo-Fries rearrangement proceeds via radical intermediates. ... 

In this contribution we have presented the synthesis of the new photoreactive thiol MUAP bearing a photoreactive phenyl ester. This molecule is well suited for the preparation of SAMs on gold substrates and can be photochemically modified by UV-illumination due to the photo-Fries rearrangement leading to the formation of hydroxyketones. By a subsequent post-modification reaction with a fluorinated compound low-energy surfaces are attainable. 

Acid-catalyzed reactions of the phenol esters resulting in the formation of phenolic ketones are known as Fries rearrangements. Aluminum chloride was the first catalyst used but other Lewis acids are also effective. Examples from the recent literature are shown in equations (44) to (48). A nitrogen analog, that is the rearrangement of an acyl derivative of an arylamine, is shown in equation (49). Photo-Fries rearrangement reactions have also been studied in detail and are exemplified in equations (50) to (55). 

The Fries rearrangement is specific in that published results are not always consistent, and that there is a dehate on intra-Zintermolecular reactivity. In the Fries rearrangement of phenyl acetate over zeolites (Eq. 16) it was first shown that the reaction is initiated by protonation of the aromatic ester, leading then to the formation of the acylium ion (Scheme 1) [33]. 

---