Synthesis of brominated compounds. A convenient molybdenum-catalyzed procedure inspired by the mode of action of haloperoxidases.

A two-phase (CHCl3/H2O) procedure for the synthesis of halogenated compounds has recently been developed. Such procedure mimics the mode of action of the enzymes haloperoxidases which contain vanadium in their active center. We have investigated the possibility to substitute vanadium with molybdenum. The molybdenum-based reactions show some advantages over the vanadium-based ones. In fact reaction times are shorter and overall yields are larger, under similar experimental conditions, both in the reaction with double bonds as well as with aromatic rings. Moreover, with double bonds, the molybdenum catalyzed process preferentially yields bromohydrins which are valuable synthetic intermediates. On the other hand, the molybdenum-catalyzed reactions show peculiar mechanistic features which deserve further investigation. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd