Tetraethylammonium bromide catalysed phase transfer reaction of potassium superoxide with hydrazones and tosylhydrazones

Abstract

A variety of hydrazones and tosylhydrazones of carbonyl compounds have been investigated under the mild reaction conditions of potassium superoxide and tetraethylammonium bromide in dry dimethylformamide. As a result, hydrazones are generally transformed to their corresponding azines whereas tosylhydrazones undergo facile fragmentation to give the olefinic products in fairly good yields. The study highlights the use of tetraethylammonium bromide as an efficient and inexpensive catalyst for superoxide studies.