Process for the preparation of substituted phenols

摘要

A substituted phenolic compound is prepared by oxidizing a substituted diarylethane compound with oxygen in the presence of a nitrogen-containing cyclic compound, and treating the oxidized product with an acid. The nitrogen-containing cyclic compound includes, as a constituent of its ring, a skeleton represented by following Formula (I): wherein X is oxygen atom or an -OR group, where R is hydrogen atom or a hydroxyl-protecting group. The substituted diarylethane compound is represented by following Formula (1): wherein each of Ring Ar¹ and Ring Ar² is independently a monocyclic or polycyclic aromatic carbocyclic ring; Y¹ is an electron-donating group; Y² is an electron-withdrawing group; "p" is an integer of 1 or more; and "q" is an integer of 0 or more. The substituted phenolic compound is represented by following Formula (2): wherein Ring Ar¹, Y¹, and "p" are as defined above.