Pd/C-Catalyzed Deoxygenation of Phenol Derivatives with Mg Metal

Significance

The phenolic hydroxyl groups are widespread in a variety of natural compounds. Removal of this group offers a way for adjusting their biological activity as well as for the synthesis of new useful compounds. Therefore, a simple, mild, high-yielding and general method for such a transformation is highly desirable. In this work, Mg metal in the presence of Pd/C serves for the reductive removal of activated sulfonic esters of phenols (triflates and mesylates) from the phenyl ring. The reaction conditions are very mild and the protocol is extremely simple. Functional groups like ester, amide and trifluoromethyl are shown to tolerate this transformation.