10.1039/c5ob02659h
The research aims to develop an efficient and environmentally friendly method for synthesizing iminoquinones, which are important in natural products and have diverse biological activities. The study introduces a chemoselective domino oxidative homocoupling of 2-aminoaryl ketones using 2-iodoxybenzoic acid (IBX) as the oxidant. The domino reaction involves three consecutive steps: ortho-hydroxylation of 2-aminoaryl ketones, oxidation of phenol derivatives to benzoquinones, and imine formation to yield iminoquinones. The researchers optimized the reaction conditions, finding that using 2 equivalents of IBX in DMSO at room temperature for 10 minutes provided the best results. The method allows for the recycling of IBX by converting the by-product iodosobenzoic acid (IBA) back to IBX. The study concludes that this domino strategy is highly chemoselective, efficient, and functional group tolerant, making it a viable approach for synthesizing iminoquinones from various substrates, including those containing sensitive functional groups.