Visible-Light-Promoted Conversion of Alkyl Benzyl Ether to Alkyl Ester or Alcohol via O-α-sp³ C-H Cleavage.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Ping Lu; Tianyuan Hou; Xiangyong Gu; Pixu Li
- Source
- Organic Letters. Apr2015, Vol. 17 Issue 8, p1954-1957. 4p.
- Subject
- *VISIBLE spectra
*BENZYL ethers
*ALCOHOL
*CHEMICAL bonds
*ELECTRON-transfer catalysis
- Language
- ISSN
- 1523-7060
A mild and high-yielding visible-light-promoted conversion of alkyl benzyl ethers to the alkyl esters or alkyl alcohols was developed. Mechanistic studies provided evidence for a radical chain reaction involving the homolytic cleavage of O-α-sp³ C-H bonds in the substrate as one of the propagation steps. We propose that α-bromoethers are key intermediates in the transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]