Reactions of 4-substituted 1-[(difluoromethyl)sulfinyl]polyfluorobenzenes with phenolate anion

Abstract

The reactions of 4-substituted-polyfluorinated-[(difluoromethyl)sulfinyl]benzenes ([4-X-C 6 F 4 S(O)CHF 2 [X = H, CF 3 and C 6 F 5 S(O)]) with phenolate anion in benzene, Et 2 O and CH 3 CN have been investigated. The reactions of the substrate (X = H, CF 3 ) and sodium phenolate in equal amounts resulted in the formation of mixtures of the starting compound, 2-phenoxyderivative and disubstituted products. The two-fold amount of the phenolate afforded the 2,6-disubstituted products for X = H in MeCN and for X = CF 3 in Et 2 O. At the same time, 4-CF 3 -C 6 F 4 S(O)CHF 2 in CH 3 CN gave a mixture of the 2,6-and 2,5-bis(phenoxy) derivatives. Quantum chemical calculations have been performed to explain this phenomenon. For X = C 6 F 5 S(O) in MeCN, the reaction was accompanied by sulfinyl moiety ipso-substitution.