Metalloporphyrin/Iodine(III)-Cocatalyzed Oxygenation of Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Hypervalent iodine species have a pronounced catalytic effect on the metalloporphyrin-mediated oxygenations of aromatic hydrocarbons. In particular, the oxidation of anthracene to anthraquinone with Oxone readily occurs at room temperature in aqueous acetonitrile in the presence of 5-20 mol% of iodobenzene and 5 mol% of a water-soluble iron(III)-porphyrin complex. 2-tert-Butylanthracene and phenanthrene also can be oxygenated under similar conditions in the presence of 50 mol% of iodobenzene. The oxidation of styrene in the presence of 20 mol% of iodobenzene leads to a mixture of products of epoxidation and cleavage of the double bond. Partially hydrogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., 9,10-dihydroanthracene, 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene, and 2,3-dihydro-1H-indene) afford under these conditions products of oxidation at the benzylic position in moderate yields. The proposed mechanism for these catalytic oxidations includes two catalytic redox cycles: 1) initial oxidation of iodobenzene with Oxone producing the hydroxy(phenyl)iodonium ion and hydrated iodosylbenzene, and 2) the oxidation of iron(III)-porphyrin to the oxoiron(IV)-porphyrin cation-radical complex by the intermediate iodine(III) species. The oxoiron(IV)-porphyrin cation-radical complex acts as the actual oxygenating agent toward aromatic hydrocarbons.