The Facile Synthesis of Dihydrofurans by the Oxidation of Olefins with Tris(2,4-pentanedionato)manganese(III)

Article abstract of DOI:10.1246/bcsj.58.1922

Eleven olefins were oxidized with tris(2,4-pentanedionato)manganese(III) at the reflux temperature to give the corresponding 3-acetyl-2-methyl-4,5-dihydrofurans in good yields.The oxidation of 9-benzylidene-9,10-dihydroanthracene under the same reaction conditions did not produce the corresponding dihydrofuran, but 9-<α-(1-acetyl-2-hydroxy-1-propenyl)benzylidene>-9,10-dihydroxyanthracene.When 1,1-diphenylethene was oxidized at room temperature, 3-acetyl-2-hydroperoxy-2-methyl-5,5-diphenyltetrahydrofuran was obtained in a high yield.The effects of the solvent and the additives on the yield of dihydrofuran, the comparable reactivities of other (2,4-pentanedionato)metal complexes, such as Co(III), Cr(III), Fe(III), and Cu(II), and the reaction mechanism are discussed.