Oxidative phenylamination of 5-substituted 1-hydroxynaphthalenes to N-phenyl-1,4-naphthoquinone monoimines by air and light “on water”

Abstract

A number of N-phenyl-1,4-naphthoquinone monoimines 6–10 were prepared by on-water oxidative phenylamination of 1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene (1) and 5-acetylamino-1-hydroxynaphthalene (5) with oxygen-substituted phenylamines under aerobic conditions and either solar or green LED radiation, in the presence of rose bengal as singlet oxygen sensitizer. As compared to the conventional oxidative phenylamination procedures, this novel synthetic method offers the advantage of aerobic conditions “on water” instead of hazardous oxidant reagents currently employed in aqueous alcoholic media.