Smiles-Truce

Scheme 19.SO Consecutive Ugi-Smiles/Truce-Smiles rearrangements in the formation of 88 and 89.

Thiophene, 2-methyl-5-(mesitylsulfonyl)-Truce-Smiles rearrangement, 4, 825 Thiophene, 2-methyl-3-nitro-acidity, 4, 799... 

Directed lithiation of aromatic compounds is a reaction of broad scope and considerable synthetic utility. The metalation of arenesulfonyl systems was first observed by Gilman and Webb and by Truce and Amos who reported that diphenyl sulfone is easily metalated at an orf/io-position by butyllithium. Subsequently, in 1958, Truce and coworkers discovered that metalation of mesityl phenyl sulfone (110) occurred entirely at an orf/io-methyl group and not at a ring carbon, as expected. Furthermore, refluxing an ether solution of the lithiated species resulted in a novel and unusual variation of the Smiles rearrangement and formation of 2-benzyl-4,6-dimethyl-benzenesulfinic acid (111) in almost quatitative yield (equation 78). Several other o-methyl diaryl sulfones have also been shown to rearrange to o-benzylbenzenesulfinic acids when heated in ether solution with... 

Pyridyl-2-hydroxybenzo[b]furans have been obtained by an unexpected Truce-Smiles type rearrangement of 2-(2 -pyridyloxy)phenylacetic esters 111. Yields of these conversions were not recorded <00TL4541>. 

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