Regioselective Synthesis of Selenide Ethers through a Decarboxylative Coupling Reaction

Abstract An efficient and selective approach to the synthesis of selenide ethers containing one or two geminal C–Se bonds from readily available diselenides and phenylacetic acids was developed. Compounds containing one C–Se bond were prepared by employing air as the oxidant under metal‐free conditions, whereas compounds having two geminal C–Se bonds were formed via the iron(III) chloride/oxygen/cesium carbonate (FeCl 3 /O 2 /Cs 2 CO 3 ) system. Moreover, 1,2‐diphenyldisulfane also could be smoothly converted into the corresponding sulfur ether product under the standard reaction conditions. magnified image