A solvent-free catalytic protocol for the Achmatowicz rearrangement

Abstract

Reported here is the development of an environmentally friendly catalytic (KBr/oxone) and solvent-free protocol for the Achmatowicz rearrangement (AchR). Different from all previous methods is that the use of chromatographic alumina (Al₂O₃) allows AchR to proceed smoothly in the absence of any organic solvent and therefore considerably facilitates the subsequent workup and purification with minimal environmental impacts. Importantly, this protocol allows for scaling up (from milligram to gram), recycling of the Al₂O₃, and integrating with other reactions in a one-pot sequential manner.