Abstract
The oxidation of 2,4,6-tritertbutylphenol and several other alkyl and halophenols by CrO2Cl2 and VOCl3 was studied. The products of CrO2Cl2 oxidation are mostly quinones and diphenoquinones, whilst those of VOCL3 oxidation also include major amounts of dealkylated phenols and C—C coupled dimers. The product distributions are interpreted in terms of a mechanism involving phenoxyl radicals, ligand transfer from metal to radical, and either phenoxonium ions or metallate esters where there is sufficient electron withdrawal from the organic group for it to exhibit carbenium ion properties. The differences in behaviour between CrO2Cl2, VOCl3, and CuCl2 are attributed to different balances between the oxidation potential and Lewis acidity of the metal complexes. It is concluded that CrO2Cl2 is not a good model for proposed ferryl intermediate in heme oxidase systems since it induces 1 → 3 rather than 1 → 2 halogen shifts and an NIH shift that is best explained by carbenium ion-like intermediates.
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