6-Membered pseudocyclic IBX acids: syntheses, X-ray structural characterizations, and oxidation reactivities in common organic solvents.

We designed and synthesized λ(5)-cyclic periodinanes 1 and 2, which are homologous to IBX (1-hydroxy-1-oxo-1H-1λ(5)-benzo[d][1,2]iodoxol-3-one) by one carbon, to thwart close packing of molecules in the crystal lattice to permit solubility in common organic solvents and to facilitate oxidations with enhanced reactivity. The X-ray crystal structures revealed that both 1 and 2 exist in the solid state as pseudocyclic (PC) acids, i.e., 1PC and 2PC, and that the molecules in the lattice are less weakly associated as compared to those in the parent IBX due to the twisting introduced via the sp(3) benzylic carbon. Both 1PC and 2PC are found to dissolve in palpable amounts in DCM and acetonitrile to allow oxidation of a variety of alcohols and sulfides to carbonyl compounds and sulfoxides in a facile manner. The subtle differences in the sterics due to methyl and ethyl substituents in 1PC and 2PC are found to manifest in contrasting reactivities in that the oxidations of alcohols occur faster with 2PC, while those of sulfides to sulfoxides occur more rapidly with 1PC.