Organocatalytic Dakin oxidation by nucleophilic flavin catalysts.

Flavin catalysts perform the first organocatalytic Dakin oxidation of electron-rich arylaldehydes to phenols under mild, basic conditions. Catechols are readily prepared, and the oxidation of 2-hydroxyacetophenone was achieved. Aerobic oxidation is displayed in the presence of Zn(0) as a reducing agent. This reactivity broadens the scope of biomimetic flavin catalysis in the realm of nucleophilic oxidations, providing a framework for mechanistic investigations for related oxidations, such as the Baeyer-Villiger oxidation and Weitz-Scheffer epoxidation.