Photochemistry of 2-(2-formylphenyloxy)acetic acid derivatives: synthesis of hydroxychromanones and benzofuranones

Photochemical transformations of small molecules, such as ortho-substituted benzaldehydes, in the absence of a photocatalyst are significantly underexplored and may reveal unexpected outcomes. In the present paper, we showed that 2-(2-formylphenoxy)acetic acid and its esters undergo photocyclization into chromanone and benzofuranone derivatives under 365 nm irradiation. The reaction occurs exclusively in dimethyl sulfoxide and can be used to efficiently obtain hydroxychromanones in good yields (27-91%). A detailed mechanistic study revealed the clue of the divergent phototransformation with various products. 2-(2-Formylphenoxy)acetic acid and its esters undergo photocyclization into chromanone and benzofuranone derivatives under 365 nm irradiation.