Transition-Metal Free Chemoselective Hydroxylation and Hydroxylation-Deuteration of Heterobenzylic Methylenes.

We developed an approach for direct selective hydroxylation of heterobenzylic methylenes to secondary alcohols avoiding overoxidation to ketones by using a KOBu-t/DMSO/air system. Most reactions could reach completion in several minutes to give hydroxylated products in 41-76% yields. Using DMSO-d6, this protocol resulted in difunctionalization of heterobenzylic methylenes to afford α-deuterated secondary alcohols (>93% incorporation). By employing this method, active pharmaceutical ingredients carbinoxamine and doxylamine were synthesized in two steps in moderate yields.