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Updated: May 10, 2026

Efficient Synthesis of Polyfunctionalized Benzenes in Water via Persulfate-promoted Benzannulation of α,β-Unsaturated Compounds and Alkynes
Published on: December 16, 2019
Mechanism of α-ketol-type rearrangement of benzoin derivatives under basic conditions
Masahiro Karino1, Daiki Kubouchi, Kazuki Hamaoka
1Department of Chemistry and the Research Center for Smart Molecules, Rikkyo University, Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, 171-8501 Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract:
The mechanism of base-catalyzed rearrangement of ring-substituted benzoins in aqueous methanol was examined by kinetic and product analyses. Substituent effects on the rate and equilibrium constants revealed that the kinetic process has a different electron demand compared to the equilibrium process. Reactions in deuterated solvents showed that the rate of H/D exchange of the α-hydrogen is similar to the overall rate toward the equilibrium state. A proton-inventory experiment using partially deuterated solvents showed a linear dependence of the rate on the deuterium fraction of the solvent, indicating that only one deuterium isotope effect contributes to the overall rate process. All these results point to a mechanism in which the rearrangement is initiated by the rate-determining α-hydrogen abstraction rather than a mechanism with initial hydroxyl hydrogen abstraction as in the general α-ketol rearrangement.
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