Boric acid catalyzed bromination of a variety of organic substrates: an eco-friendly and practical protocol

Abstract

An environmentally benign, easy to operate, and practical protocol for the regioselective bromination of aromatic compounds using boric acid as a recyclable catalyst, KBr as the source of bromide and hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant is described. Peroxoborate generated in solution, from the reaction of boric acid and H₂O₂, very effectively catalyses the bromination of organic substrates at room temperature in a selective manner. The catalyst used is inexpensive, eco-friendly, safe to handle, and recyclable. The methodology is chemoselective for dibenzylidineacetone and regioselective for the other substrates. High yields of the products, mild reaction conditions, high selectivity, use of H₂O or C₂H₅OH as solvent, and redundancy of bromine are some of the major advantages of the synthetic protocol.