Chemoselective oxidative generation of ortho-quinone methides and tandem transformations.

ortho-Quinone methides are useful transient synthetic intermediates in organic synthesis. These species are most often generated in situ by the acid- or base-mediated transformation of phenols that have been pre-functionalized at a benzylic position, or by biomimetic oxidation of the corresponding ortho-alkylphenols with metal oxidants or transition-metal complexes. Here we describe a method for the transition-metal-free oxidative generation of o-QMs from ortho-alkylarenols, using hypoiodite catalysis under nearly neutral conditions, which can then be applied in one-pot tandem reactions. This method for the chemoselective oxidative generation of ortho-quinone methides may prove superior to previous methods with respect to environmental issues and scope, and can be applied to various tandem reactions such as inter- or intramolecular [4 + 2] cycloaddition, oxa-6π-electrocyclization, conjugate addition and spiroepoxidation.