Herein, we report an efficient method
for the chemical generation
of 1O2 by treatment of H2O2 with AIBX, a highly water-soluble, bench-stable, recyclable hypervalent
iodine(V) reagent developed by our group. The generation of 1O2 was confirmed by the following results: (1) capture
of 1O2 with the sodium salt of anthracene-9,10-bis(ethanesulfonate)
produced the corresponding endoperoxide and (2) TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy)
produced by the oxidation of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine with 1O2 generated using the AIBX/H2O2 system was detected by electron spin resonance spectroscopy.
To illustrate the potential utility of this method for organic synthesis,
we used the AIBX/H2O2 system to perform typical
reactions of 1O2: [2 + 2]/[4 + 2] cycloadditions,
Schenck ene reactions, and heteroatom oxidation reactions, which afforded
the corresponding products in high yields. Moreover, we used the method
to synthesize the antimalarial drug artemisinin. Finally, we demonstrated
that AIBX could be regenerated after the reaction by means of a workup
involving extraction and removal of water to obtain a precursor of
AIBX, which could then be re-oxidized.