Oxidative rearrangement of alkenes using in situ generated hypervalent iodine(III)

A novel protocol for the oxidative rearrangement of alkenes using in situ generated hypervalent iodine(III) was developed. This approach uses inexpensive, readily available, and stable chemicals (PhI, mCPBA, and TsOH) giving rearrangement products in yields comparable to those obtained using the more expensive commercially available [hydroxy(tosyloxy)iodo]benzene [HTIB or Koser’s reagent]. Additionally, an alternative protocol for the synthesis of 1-methyl-2-tetralone through the one-step epoxidation/rearrangement of 4-methyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene using mCPBA and TsOH was developed.