The Fries rearrangement of ortho-halogenophenyl acetates

Abstract

The products of Fries rearrangements of 2-bromophenyl acetate at 140° in the absence of solvent were shown to be mixtures of up to eight components—several being the result of bromine or intermolecular acyl migration. At a higher temperature (180°), two products of intermolecular bromine migration were identified also. The rearrangements of 2-chlorophenyl acetate gave only the expected products; even at high temperatures (160–180°) only traces of other substances were observed.