Halogenated organic compounds are of great importance in pharmaceuticals, agrochemistry and organic synthesis, especially when it comes to coupling reactions. As part of this master’s thesis, we studied the iodochlorination of alkynes using HICl$_2$, which was prepared from molecular iodine, hydrochloric acid and an aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide. HICl$_2$ was prepared in a solvent mixture of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) and benzotrifluoride, which was necessary due to the poor solubility of molecular iodine in TFE. First, we dihalogenated the triple bond of phenylacetylene and its derivatives. Most reactions proceeded quickly and with good yields (65–90 %). Reactions also proceeded where the triple bond was not at a terminal position. Reactions where the starting compounds had electron-donating groups (OMe and NH$_2$) attached to the phenyl ring were non-selective. Next, we investigated the iodochlorination of aliphatic alkynes. The reactions were successful, albeit with slightly lower yields (61–86 %). Using NOESY spectra, we determined that only trans products of iodochlorination were formed. In this context, we also examined the influence of the OH group on the reaction. We successfully iodochlorinated 3-hexyne-2,5-diol, demonstrating that the OH group does not interfere with the reaction with HICl$_2$. Finally, we attempted to halogenate alkynes attached to ketone or ester groups. Iodochlorination of the triple bond proceeded on both ester and ketone derivatives.
In the final part of the research, we performed a coupling reaction with some of the products obtained from dihalogenation. We chose copper catalyzed coupling reaction where iodine is the leaving group, while chlorine remains attached. To test the coupling reaction, we chose three substrates obtained by iodochlorination of phenylacetylene, 1-phenylprop-1-yne and hex-1-yne. We attached 2-pyrrolidone to the carbon atom previously bonded to iodine. The coupling reaction was successful with 2-chloro-1-iodoethenylbenzene, a terminal alkene attached to a phenyl ring. The coupling reaction also succeeded with a non-terminal alkene – (1-chloro-2-iodo-1-propenyl)benzene, and with an aliphatic alkene – 2-chloro-1-iodo-1-hexene. This confirmed the utility of halogenated compounds in orgaic synthesis.
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