Formation of 2,2-dimethylchroman-4-ones during the photoinduced rearrangement of some aryl 3-methyl-2-butenoate esters. A mechanistic insight

Abstract

Several aryl 3-methyl-2-butenoate esters upon irradiation lead to the formation of [1,3]-migrated photoproducts, phenol and, surprisingly 2,2-dimethylchroman-4-one derivatives. The starting photochemical reaction takes place from the singlet excited state of the ester and as a total mechanism two consecutive reaction pathways are proposed. The former involves the photo-Fries rearrangement of the esters in all the solvents studied and, depending on the proticity of the solvent, the latter involves an ESIPT process followed by thermal 6π-electrocyclic reaction and/or thermal (intramolecular oxa-Michael addition) cyclization of the ortho regioisomers photoformed. This second pathway is responsible of the formation of the 2,2-dimethylchroman-4-one derivatives.