Phenols ether synthesis

Hydroxyl Group. Reactions of the phenohc hydroxyl group iaclude the formation of salts, esters, and ethers. The sodium salt of the hydroxyl group is alkylated readily by an alkyl hahde (WiUiamson ether synthesis). Normally, only alkylation of the hydroxyl is observed. However, phenolate ions are ambident nucleophiles and under certain conditions, ring alkylation can also occur. Proper choice of reaction conditions can produce essentially exclusive substitution. Polar solvents favor formation of the ether nonpolar solvents favor ring substitution. 

The applicability of the Gattermann synthesis is limited to electron-rich aromatic substrates, such as phenols and phenolic ethers. The introduction of the formyl group occurs preferentially para to the activating substituent (compare Friedel-Crafts acylation). If the /jara-position is already substituted, then the ort/zo-derivative will be formed. 

Unlike the acid-catalyzed ether cleavage reaction discussed in the previous section, which is general to all ethers, the Claisen rearrangement is specific to allyl aryl ethers, Ar—O—CH2CH = CH2. Treatment of a phenoxide ion with 3-bromopropene (allyl bromide) results in a Williamson ether synthesis and formation of an allyl aryl ether. Heating the allyl aryl ether to 200 to 250 °C then effects Claisen rearrangement, leading to an o-allylphenol. The net result is alkylation of the phenol in an ortho position. 

Many reactions have been shown to benefit from irradiation with ultrasound (ref. 19). We therefore decided to investigate the effect of ultrasound, different catalysts and the presence of solids on Ullmann diaryl ether synthesis. Indeed, sonication of mixtures of a phenol and a bromoaromatic compound, in the absence of solvent and presence of copper (I) iodide as catalyst and potassium carbonate as base, produces good yields of diaryl ethers at relatively low temperatures (Fig. 10) (ref 20). 

The key structural features of compound 1 are the chiral cis-diaryl benzox-athiin fused ring system, two phenols, and one phenol ether linkage with the pyrrolidinylethanol. Originally, SERM 1 was prepared by medicinal chemists from a key ketone intermediate 5 shown in Scheme 5.1. Compound 5 was prepared in four steps with rather low yield [4a], Among these steps, the high temperature de-methylation step and the use of extremely toxic MOM-C1 were not particularly suitable for scale-up. The ketone 5 was then brominated with PhMe3NBr3 (PTAB) and coupled with thiophenol 7 to produce adduct 8. The key step of the synthesis was the conversion of adduct 8 to cis-diaryl benzoxathiin 9 under the Kursanov-Parne reaction conditions (TFA/Et3SiH). This novel reaction allowed the formation... 

Alternatively, the Sn2 nucleophilic substitution reaction between alcohols (phenols) and organic halides under basic conditions is the classical Williamson ether synthesis. Recently, it was found that water-soluble calix[n]arenes (n = 4, 6, 8) containing trimethylammonium groups on the upper rim (e.g., calix[4]arene 5.2) were inverse phase-transfer catalysts for alkylation of alcohols and phenols with alkyl halides in aqueous NaOH solution to give the corresponding alkylated products in good-to-high yields.56... 

In addition to the aromatic hydrocarbons, the phenolic ethers undergo this synthesis with special ease. 

All of the sulfone diols were able to form oligomers in the second step of the reaction sequence, the Ullmann ether synthesis. As with the synthesis of the mono(bromophenoxy)phenol products, two methods were used to form the dibromo materials. Method A used pyridine, potassium carbonate and cuprous iodide, while Method B employed collidine and cuprous oxide with the dibromobenzene and higher molecular weight diol (IV). The major difference between the syntheses of the mono(bromophenoxy)phenols described earlier and these lies in the stoichiometry of the reactions. In order to... 

A direct synthesis of cyclic quinone imine acetals has been accomplished by the treatment of substituted phenol ethers bearing an alkyl azido side chain with IBTA (Eq. 39) [96JCS(CC)1491]. The cyclization reaction proceeds smoothly in polar and low nucleophilic solvents such as CF3CH2OH and (CF3)2CH0H in the presence of 10% MeOH. 

A very simple synthesis of coumestrol (228) has been described by Kappe and coworkers (Scheme 46) (74ZN(B)292). It is based upon dehydrogenation of 4-hydroxy-3-phenyl-coumarins to coumestans (720PP233). A number of 2 -hydroxy 3-phenylcoumarins were oxidized with lead tetraacetate to the corresponding coumestans 3-(l-acetoxy-4-methoxy-2-oxo-3,5-cyclohexadienyl)coumarins were obtained as by-products (76BCJ1955). Coumes-tan itself (226) has been obtained by photolysis of the phenol ether (232), which is in turn available from 4-hydroxycoumarin (229) and (diacetoxyiodo)benzene (Scheme 47) (78CB3857) via an iodonium ylide (231). 

Phenols attached to insoluble supports can be etherified either by treatment with alkyl halides and a base (Williamson ether synthesis) or by treatment with primary or secondary aliphatic alcohols, a phosphine, and an oxidant (typically DEAD Mitsu-nobu reaction). The second methodology is generally preferred, because more alcohols than alkyl halides are commercially available, and because Mitsunobu etherifications proceed quickly at room temperature with high chemoselectivity, as illustrated by Entry 3 in Table 7.11. Thus, neither amines nor C,H-acidic compounds are usually alkylated under Mitsunobu conditions as efficiently as phenols. The reaction proceeds smoothly with both electron-rich and electron-poor phenols. Both primary and secondary aliphatic alcohols can be used to O-alkylate phenols, but variable results have been reported with 2-(Boc-amino)ethanols [146,147]. 

GATTERMANN ALDEHYDE SYNTHESIS. Preparation of aldehydes of phenols, phenol ethers, or heterocyclic compounds hy treatment of the aromatic substrate with hydrogen cyanide and hydrochloric acid in the presence of Lewis acid catalysts. 

The Gatterman aldehyde synthesis employs hydrogen cyanide and unlike the Gatterman-Koch procedure, this method is successful in the case of phenols and phenolic ethers, although only the more reactive hydrocarbons are formylated... 

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 use of hypervalent iodine reagents in carbon-carbon bond forming reactions is summarized with particular emphasis on applications in organic synthesis. The most important recent methods involve the radical decarboxylative alkylation of organic substrates with [bis(acyloxy)iodo]arenes, spirocyclization of para- and ortho-substituted phenols, the intramolecular oxidative coupling of phenol ethers, and the reactions of iodonium salts and ylides. A significant recent research activity is centered in the area of the transition metal-mediated coupling reactions of the alkenyl-, aryl-, and alkynyliodonium salts. 

Total Synthesis via Oxidation Reactions of Phenol Ether... 

Intramolecular nucleophilic substitution reactions of phenol ether derivatives induced by activated iodine(III) reagents such as PIFA-TMSOTf and PIFA-BF3 Et20 [Eq. (7) - (11)] have been applied to total or formal synthesis of various types of bioactive natural products. 

Combining this pyrroloiminoquinone formation [58,122], the cyclic sulfide formation of phenol ether 159 using PIFA-BF3 Et20 [59], and a-azidonation of cyclic sulfide (160) using Phl=0-TMSN3 [123], the first total synthesis of ( )-makaluvamine F (57), which is a potent inhibitor for DNA topoisomerase II, was achieved by Kita and co-workers [124,125] (Scheme 31). 

Williamson synthesis of phenyl alkyl and dialkyl ethers. Phenols react with alkyl halides in 20% aqueous NaOH containing 1 equiv. of this surfactant at 80° to form phenolic ethers in 85-97% yield. There is no reaction in the absence of CTAB. This procedure is not useful for preparation of dialkyl ethers from alcohols and alkyl halides. Instead, the alkyl chloride, alcohol, a trace of water, and CTAB are heated in THF at 70° with NaOH (2 equiv.). 

The anions of phenols (phenoxide ions) may be used in the Williamson ether synthesis, especially with very reactive alkylating reagents such as dimethyl sulfate. Using phenol, dimethyl sulfate, and other necessary reagents, show how you would synthesize methyl phenyl ether. 

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