5,8-Di-tert-butyl-2-hydroxy-1H-benzo[de]isoquinoline-1,3(2H)-dione—A New Lipophilic N-oxyl Radical Precursor

Abstract

N-hydroxyimides are widely known as organocatalysts for aerobic oxidation and oxidative coupling reactions, in which corresponding imide-N-oxyl radicals play the role of catalytically active hydrogen atom abstracting species. The drawbacks of many N-hydroxyimides are poor solubility in low polarity solvents and limited activity in the cleavage of unactivated C–H bonds. To overcome these shortcomings, we have synthesized a new lipophilic N-hydroxyimide, 5,8-di-tert-butyl-2-hydroxy-1H-benzo[de]isoquinoline-1,3(2H)-dione, with high solubility in low-polarity solvents such as DCM. According to the EPR study, the stability of the corresponding imide-N-oxyl radical is comparable to that of the non-tert-butylated analogue, naphthalimide-N-oxyl radical. DFT calculations showed that the NO–H bond dissociation enthalpy (BDE) in the synthesized tert-butylated-N-hydroxynaphthalimide is one of the highest in N-hydroxyimide series, which corresponds to high hydrogen atom abstracting reactivity and may be useful in catalysis of strong C–H bond oxidative cleavage. The synthesized compound can be considered as catalyst for liquid-phase free-radical oxidation and oxidative coupling reactions in non-polar media where solubility was previously the limiting factor.