Polyethylene glycol-400/H3PO2: an eco-friendly reductive system for the synthesis of selanylesters

An alternative green method was described for the synthesis of selanylesters by reactions of acyl chlorides with arylselenols, generated in situ by reaction of diaryl diselenides with hypophosphorous acid (H3PO2) using polyethylene glycol-400 (PEG-400) as the solvent. These reactions proceeded efficiently at room temperature under N-2 using a range of acyl chlorides and diaryl diselenides, both containing electron-withdrawing and electron-donating groups, affording the corresponding selanylesters in moderate to excellent yields. Additionally, PEG-400 can be recovered and directly reused for further reactions.