Denitrative Hydroxylation of Unactivated Nitroarenes
Lee Duff1, Harry Meakin1, Adam Richardson1
1Department of Chemistry, University of York Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK.
Abstract:
A one-step method for the conversion of nitroarenes into phenols under operationally simple, transition-metal-free conditions is described. This denitrative functionalization protocol provides a concise and economical alternative to conventional three-step synthetic sequences. Experimental and computational studies suggest that nitroarenes may be substituted by an electron-catalysed radical-nucleophilic substitution (SRN 1) chain mechanism.
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