The Superbase‐Mediated Pairwise Substitution of the 2,2′‐ and 6,6′‐Positions in a Biphenyl Derivative

Abstract

AbstractThe superbasic mixture of butyllithium and potassium tert‐butoxide is powerful enough to enable the double proton abstraction from one ortho and one ortho′ position of 4,4′‐di‐tert‐butylbiphenyl. In this way, a series of functionalized derivatives becomes readily accessible, among them 4,4′‐di‐tert‐butylbiphenyldiyl‐2,2′‐dicarboxylic acid (2a) and 4,4′‐di‐tert‐butylbiphenyl‐2,2′‐diol (2d). The latter compound can be subjected again to a superbase‐promoted double metalation, thus giving rise to 2,2′,6,6′‐tetrasubstituted biphenyl derivatives. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2004)