ABSTRACT A metal‐free selective cleavage of saturated C(sp 3 )─C(sp 3 ) bonds in glycol ethers mediated by free radicals is reported. This process utilizes O 2 as the terminal stoichiometric oxidant, hypervalent iodine(III) reagents as the co‐oxidants, and coupling reagents. This reaction avoids the use of metal catalysts and azides (for preparing BIN 3 ), and the iodine reagent is suitable for long‐term storage. Under the synergistic action of hypervalent iodine(III) reagents and O 2 , various types of cyclic and linear alkyl ethers can be efficiently transformed into benzoylated acetals and aldehydes. The control experiments and mechanistic studies offer a plausible mechanism explanation for this process of cleavage of C(sp 3 )─C(sp 3 ) bonds.
Tang et al. (Sun,) studied this question.