Dramatic synergistic effects between hydroquinone and resorcinol derivatives for the organocatalyzed reduction of dioxygen by diethylhydroxylamine

Abstract

Diethylhydroxylamine reduces dioxygen in the presence of catalytic amounts of hydroquinone. A great improvement is achieved by adding resorcinol derivatives as co-catalysts. Though the formation of heterodimers does not seem to be the sole cause of the synergy, such products constitute a new class of powerful organocatalysts for dioxygen scavenging.