Thallium trifluoroacetate electrophilic oxidation

Trifluoroacetates of silver, mercury(II), thallium(lll), lead(IV), and lodme(III) are synthetically valuable reagents that combine the properties of strong electrophiles, oxidizers, and Lewis acids Furthermore, trifluoroacetate anions are stable to oxidation, are weak nucleophiles, and usually do not cause any contamination of the reaction mixture... 

Whilst direct electrophilic hydroxylation of the arylthallium species can be effected using peroxytriflu-oroacetic acid, further oxidation of the phenol to a quinone accompanies this process. This over-oxidation can be avoided by initial transmetallation to a lead species with concomitant reduction of the thallium trifluoroacetate (TTFA) by triphenylphosphine, followed by displacement of the lead by trifluo-roacetate to give the aryl trifluoroacetate. lliis hydroxylation method has yet to find use in the synthesis of molecules which are more complex than simple arenes. 

Yields in the above reactions can often be improved by the addition of 1 mole of triphenylphosphine directly to the trifluoroacetic acid solution of the reactants immediately before final work-up. It would appear that the triphenylphosphine functions as a scavenger for TTFA released in the metal-metal exchange reaction, thus protecting the final phenol from further electrophilic thallation and/or oxidation. Validation of the metal-metal exchange mechanism was obtained indirectly by isolation and characterization of an ArTlX2/LTTFA complex directly from the reaction mixture. NMR analysis revealed that this complex still possessed an intact aryl-thallium bond, indicating that it was probably the precursor to the transmetallation products, an aryllead tristrifluoroacetate and TTFA. 

Thallium (III) Compounds. Thallium (ITT) derivatives have been used extensively as oxidants in oiganic synthesis. In particular, thallic acetate and trifluoroacetate are extremely effective as electrophiles in oxythallation and thallation reactions. For example, ketones can be prepared from terminal acetylenes by means of Tl(OOCCH3)3 in acetic acid (oxythallation) (30) ... 

Enhancement by strong acids such as TFA is a general feature of oxidations with metal acetates. Metal trifluoroacetates in TFA are much more powerful oxidants (electrophiles) than the corresponding acetates in acetic acid. Activation of the metal oxidant in TFA has been observed with co-balt(III)217 249,259,27S 276 manganese(III),237,275 lead(IV),277-281 thallium-(III),282-287 cerium(IV),288 289 and copper(II).290 Similarly, the electrophilic properties of copper(I)291 and mercury(II)292 acetates are strongly enhanced by replacement of acetate by trifluoroacetate. It has been proposed217,276 that the potent oxidizing properties of Co(III) trifluoroacetate are due to ionization to the cationic Co(III) species,... 

The regiospecificity of cyclohexadienyl complex formation via the oxidation of [Fe(CO)3 77" -substituted diene)] substrates by thallium tris(trifluoroacetate) has been examined.These reactions are considered to proceed via initial electrophilic attack of Tl(III) at the coordinated diene to give allyl intermediates such as (56) and (57). By using optically active starting diene complexes it was confirmed that... 

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