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[DPEPhosbcpCu]PF6: A General and Broadly Applicable Copper-Based Photoredox Catalyst
Published on: May 21, 2019
Visible-Light-Induced Divergent Oxygenation of Methylbenzene Utilizing Aryl Halides
Jianing Li1, Zongyi Yu1, Jingnan Zhao1
1State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Frontiers Science Center for Smart Materials Oriented Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China.
Abstract:
The selective oxidation of methylbenzene to value-added products is of indisputable importance in organic synthesis. Although photocatalytic oxidation reactions of toluene have achieved great success for the preparation of its oxidative products, such as carboxylic acids, benzaldehyde, and benzoate, there remains a lack of a unified photocatalytic system for the selective preparation of these oxidation products. Herein, we report a metal- and additive-free photocatalytic protocol enabled by aryl halides using O2 as a green oxidant for the selective synthesis of the above-mentioned three oxidation products by adjusting the reaction solvent. This strategy features many advantages, including environmentally friendly and mild reaction conditions, broad substrate applicability and functional group tolerance, and potential practical application for the synthesis of aromatic carboxylic drugs and polymer materials and degradation of polystyrene waste. The continuous-flow system was utilized for the oxidation of toluene, which resulted in a reduced reaction time and increased production efficiency. Detailed mechanistic investigation revealed that the hydrogen atom transfer process was facilitated by the bromine radical from aryl halides for further oxidation, and an electron donor-acceptor complex of methylbenzene and aryl halides may exist.
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