| Abstract: | 4-Methoxy-, 5-methoxy- and 7-methoxy-2-nitrobenzofurans have been acetylated via the Friedel-Crafts reaction under the same reaction conditions. 2-Nitrobenzofuran does not undergo acetylation while 6-methoxy-2-nitrobenzofuran only produces decomposition products. As a result of the positive acetylation reactions, 7-acetyl-4-methoxy-, 4-acetyl-5-methoxy- and 4-acetyl-7-methoxy-2-nitrobenzofuran have been prepared. As side products in the acetylation reactions, 4-methoxy-3-(4′-methoxy-2′-nitro-7′-benzofuranyl)-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-2-one was isolated when 4-methoxy-2-nitrobenzofuran was the starting material and, likewise, when 5-methoxy-2-nitrobenzofuran was the starting material, 3-chloro-5-methoxy-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-2-one was obtained. Furthermore, 5-methoxy-2-nitrobenzofuran participated in an unexpected chlorination leading to 4-chloro-5-methoxy-2-nitrobenzofuran. |
