Hypervalent (tert-Butylperoxy)iodanes Generate Iodine-Centered Radicals at Room Temperature in Solution: Oxidation and Deprotection of Benzyl and Allyl Ethers, and Evidence for Generation of α-Oxy Carbon Radicals

Abstract

1-(tert-Butylperoxy)-1,2-benziodoxol-3(1H)-one (1a) oxidizes benzyl and allyl ethers to the esters at room temperature in benzene or cyclohexane in the presence of alkali metal carbonates. Since this reaction is compatible with other protecting groups such as MOM, THP, and TBDMS ethers, and acetoxy groups, and because esters are readily hydrolyzed under basic conditions, this new method provides a convenient and effective alternative to the usual reductive deprotection. Oxidation with 1a occurs readily with C−H bonds activated by both enthalpic effects (benzylic, allylic, and propargylic C−H bonds) and/or polar effects (α-oxy C−H bonds), generating α-oxy carbon-centered radicals, which can be detected by nitroxyl radical trapping. Measurement of the relative rates of oxidation for a series of ring-substituted benzyl n-butyl ethers 2d and 2p−s indicated that electron-releasing groups such as p-MeO and p-Me groups increase the rate of oxidation, and Hammett correlation of the relative rate factors with the ...