Synthesis and some transformations of benzo[b]thiophene derivatives

A number of 3-chloro-2-chlorocarbonylbenzo [b] thiophenes with alkyl substituants in various positions of the benzene ring were synthesized by arylation of acrylic acid with the corresponding alkyl-substituted iodobenzenes under the influence of catalytic amounts of palladium acetate and subsequent oxidation of the resulting arylacrylic acids with thionyl chloride. Replacement of the pyridine added in the oxidation reaction by triethylbenzylammonium chloride led to substantial increases in the yields of the desired products. The possibility of conversion of the resulting benzo [b] thiophene derivatives to thiophene ring-unsubstituted benzo[b] thiophenes was shown in the case of 3-chloro-2-chlorocarbonylbenzo [b] thiophene as a result of successive saponification of the 2-chlorocarbonyl group, decarboxylation, and dechlorination.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 12, pp. 1618–1622, December, 1982.