Regiospecific aromatic chlorination of alkyl phenyl ethers using sodium chlorite catalysed by manganese(III) acetylacetonate and moist alumina in dichloromethane

A solid-liquid biphasic system (dichloromethane and chromatographic neutral alumina) has been tested for the aromatic chlorination of various alkyl aryl ethers using a reagent combination of sodium chlorite and manganese(III) acetylacetonate catalyst. Efficient incorporation of a chlorine atom into the benzene ring with high para-selectivity results. This catalytic system is also applicable to the regiocontrolled chlorination of polyether substrates.