Reaction of 4-(2′-Hydroxyaryl)-1,3-dithiolium Salts with Sodium Sulfide. A Selective Synthesis of 2′-Hydroxyacetophenones

The treatment of 4-(2′-hydroxyaryl)-2-(N,N-dialkylamino)-1,3-dithiolium perchlorates (1a–g) with sodium sulfide nonahydrate in ethanol at room temperature affords the corresponding 1,3-dithiole-2-thiones (2a–g). When these reactions are conducted in boiling ethanol, 2′-hydroxyacetophenones (3a–g) have been obtained in good to excellent yield. A tentative mechanism for the formation of 3a–g shows that this reaction is regioselective, this being established by the presence of hydroxyl group in 2′-position. That has been confirmed in a control experiment, 4-phenyl-2-(piperidin-1-yl)-1,3-dithiolium perchlorate affording a mixture of condensation products of acetophenone and phenylacetaldehyde, under similar reaction conditions.