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Chinese scientists have developed a new approach to synthesize acridones viacopper-catalyzed C–C bond cleavage and intramolecular cyclization.

C–C and C–H bond cleavage/activation has become a very important area of research in recent years due to the variety of possible applications.  Presently, the cleavage of C–C bonds generally involves the use of noble metal catalysts such as Rh, Ry, Pd and Pt among others.  However, there are very few examples in the current literature of cheaper metals such as copper or iron being employed in these transformations.

In this work, Wang Zhou and colleagues from Xiangtan University, China, used a copper catalyst and air as the oxidant to synthesize acridones through a C–C bond cleavage and intramolecular cyclization, under neutral conditions.  This reaction provides an alternative strategy for C–C cleavage.

Read the full article for free until the 11th December 2012:

Copper-catalyzed C–C bond cleavage and intramolecular cyclization: an approach toward acridones, Wang Zhou, Youqing Yang, Yong Liu and Guo-Jun Deng, Green Chem., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2GC36502B

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