Fast tin-free hydrodehalogenation and reductive radical cyclization reactions: a new reduction process.

The photostimulated reactions of several aryl and alkyl chlorides and bromides with the monoanion of reduced ethyl benzoate 5H furnish the reduced products in high yields. If the aryl moieties have suitable double bonds, the cyclized reduced products are obtained in high yields. The photostimulated reaction of 1-allyloxy-2-bromobenzene (1a) with 5H affords 3-methyl-2,3-dihydro-benzofuran (2a) in 97% yield. When 1-allyloxy-2-chlorobenzene (1b) is used, the yield of 2a is only 55%, which increases up to 91% when acetone enolate ion is added to the reaction mixture as entrainment reagent. With diallyl-(2-bromophenyl)amine (3a), and 2-allyloxy-1-halonaphthalenes (chloro, 4b, and bromo, 4a) the cyclized reduced products are obtained in yields above 96%. By competition experiments, 5H reacts ca. 5 times faster with 1-naphthyl radicals than benzenethiolate ions do, which is near the diffusion limit rate.