Dimethyl Sulfoxide → 4,4'-Dimethoxybenzil

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a solution of 1,2-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)ethan-1-one (1 g, 3.90 mmol) in DMSO (20 mL) was added SeO2 (1.76 g, 15.86 mmol) in several batches at 100° C. over 30 min, and then stirred for 3 hr at this temperature. The reaction was quenched by the addition of water (200 mL) and extracted with dichloromethane (3×50 mL), dried over magnesium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo to give a residue, which was purified by silica gel column chromatography (1%˜10% ethyl acetate in petroleum ether) to afford 1,2-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)ethane-1,2-dione as a brown solid (600 mg, 76%).

Provenance & Evidence