Buttressing effects rerouting the deprotonation and functionalization of 1,3-dichloro- and 1,3-dibromobenzene

A systematic comparison between 1,3-difluorobenzene, 1,3-dichlorobenzene, and 1,3-dibromobenzene did not reveal major differences in their behavior towards strong bases such as lithium diisopropylamide or lithium 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-piperidide. Thus, all 2,6-dihalobenzoic acids 1 are directly accessible by consecutive treatment with a suitable base and dry ice. In contrast, (2,6-dichlorophenyl)- and (2,6-bromophenyl)triethylsilane (2a and 2b) were found to undergo deprotonation at the 5-position (affording acids 3 and, after deprotection, 4), whereas the 1,3-difluoro analog is known to react at the 4-position. The 2,4-dihalobenzoic acids 3 were selectively prepared from either the silanes 2 (by bromination at the 4-position, metalation and carboxylation of the neighboring position, followed by desilylation and debromination) or the 1,3-dihalo-2-iodobenzenes 8 (by base-promoted migration of iodine to the 4-position followed by iodine/magnesium permutation and subsequent carboxylation). ((C) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2003).