A UNIQUE 1,2-SHIFT SELECTIVITY IN 2-HYDROXYPROPIOPHENONE DIMETHYLACETALS: GENERATION OF NEW METHODOLOGIES FOR METHYL-2-ARYLPROPANOATES AND 1,2-CARBONYL TRANSPOSITION

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0040-4020(01)86104-4

α-Hydroxydimethylacetals I have been shown to undergo two different rearrangements involving highly selective 1,2-shifts under mild conditions.When treated with Ph3P/CCl4 in the presence of pyridine, I were cleanly transformed via 1,2-aryl shifts into methyl 2-arylpropanoates, an important class of antiinflammatory agents; a pronounced substituent effect has been observed in this rearrangement. On the other hand, treatment of I with catalytic amount of Ph3P/I2 in benzene furnished α-methoxy-α-aryl propan-2-ones in excellent yields and culminated in the development of a new methodology for 1,2-carbonyl transposition.