Iodine (III)-mediated one-pot synthesis of quinoxaline by tandem nucleophilic substitution and cyclisation

Quinoxaline derivatives are widely used in dyes, electroluminescent materials and organic semiconductors. An economic and convenient strategy for the synthesis of 2-phenyl-quinoxaline is described. The approach relies on the oxidation of acetophenones by [hydroxy(tosyloxy)iodo] benzene, followed by tandem nucleophilic substitution with o-phenylenediamines, dehydration cyclisation and dehydrogenation. The method was performed in two stages as a one-pot reaction.