Regio- and Chemoselective Bromination of 2,3-Diarylcyclopent-2-en-1-ones

The bromination of 2,3-diarylcyclopent-2-en-1-ones under various conditions has been studied. It was found that depending on the brominating reagent and nature of solvent the bromine atom can be introduced at the 4- or 5-position of the ethene "bridge", as well as into the aryl moieties. Aryl group bromination is accomplished with such reagents as molecular bromine, N-bromosuccinimide, or tetrabutylammonium tribromide. 5-Bromocyclopentenones with very high efficiency can be obtained by the reaction with copper(II) bromide in methanol, while 4-bromoketones are prepared in n-propyl acetate. The developed methods can be highly useful for the synthesis of bromo-substituted 2-cyclopenten-1-ones and their close analogues, which are important synthons in organic synthesis and for the preparation of a variety of useful substances.