Mitsunobu reactions of aliphatic alcohols and bulky phenols

Alkylation of hydrazinedicarboxylate (a Mitsunobu by-product) is not a notable problem in common Mitsunobu alkyl aryl etherification reactions. Good yields can be obtained with a wide range of solvents. However, this side reaction can cause yield reduction for the reactions of sterically hindered phenols and primary alcohols. To suppress the side reaction, solvent effect was investigated. It was found that hydrazinedicarboxylate is about five times less soluble in diethyl ether than in THF, and the yields are improved for ortho-substituted phenols of a wide range of steric hindrance using diethyl ether as the solvent instead of THF which is the more commonly used for Mitsunobu reactions.