Water-promoted unprecedented chemoselective nucleophilic substitution reactions of 1,4-quinones with oxygen nucleophiles in aqueous micelles

Unique nucleophilic substitution and addition reactions of nitrogen and sulfur nucleophiles with 1,4-quinones in aqueous suspension with amines and thiols have recently been demonstrated by us.2 However, the reactivity of oxygen nucleophiles toward nucleophilic substitution compared to nitrogen and sulfur nucleophiles ‘on water’ is not facile. An unprecedented economical, green methodology approach using ordinary laundry detergent (LD; washing powder, 0.5 mol %, reusable)/SDS as surfactant ‘in water’ for nucleophilic substitution by oxygen nucleophiles in 1,4-quinones in excellent yields has been demonstrated.