Lewis base-assisted Lewis acid-catalyzed selective alkene formation via alcohol dehydration and synthesis of 2-cinnamyl-1,3-dicarbonyl compounds from 2-aryl-3,4-dihydropyrans

Acid-catalyzed dehydration of alcohols has been widely employed for the synthesis of alkenes. However, activated alcohols when employed as substrates in dehydration reactions are often plagued by the lack of alkene selectivity. In this work, the reaction system can be significantly improved through enhancing the performance of Lewis acid catalysts in the dehydration of activated alcohols by combining with a Lewis base. Observations of the reaction mechanism revealed that the Lewis base component might have changed the reaction rate order. Although both the principal and side reaction rates decreased, the effect was markedly more observed on the latter reaction. Therefore, the selectivity of the dehydration reaction was improved. On the basis of this observation, a new route to synthesize 2-cinnamyl-1,3-dicarbonyl compounds was developed by using 2-aryl-3,4-dihydropyran as a starting substrate in the presence of a Lewis acid/Lewis base combined catalyst system.

Graphical AbstractTo improve the reaction selectivity of dehydration of 1-phenylethanol, a novel Lewis base and Lewis acid synergistic catalytic system was developed. Alkenes and 2-cinnamyl-1,3-dicarbonyl derivatives were obtained in excellent yields under mild reaction conditions.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide