4,5-Dimethyl-2-Iodoxybenzenesulfonic Acid Catalyzed Site-Selective Oxidation of 2-Substituted Phenols to 1,2-Quinols

A site-selective hydroxylative dearomatization of 2-substituted phenols to either 1,2-benzoquinols or their cyclodimers, catalyzed by 4,5-dimethyl-2-iodoxybenzenesulfonic acid with Oxone, has been developed. Natural products such as biscarvacrol and lacinileneC methyl ether could be synthesized efficiently under mild reaction conditions. Furthermore, both the reaction rate and site selectivity could be further improved by the introduction of a trialkylsilylmethyl substituent at the 2-position of phenols. The corresponding 1,2-quinols could be transformed into various useful structural motifs by [4+2] cycloaddition cascade reactions.