Facile Synthesis of 1,6-Bis(2-furyl)-2,5-bis(2-hydroxy-3-formyl-5-methylbenzyl)-2,5-diazahexane: a New Dinucleating Ligand

A convenient three-step preparation of the dinucleating ligand, 1,6-bis(2-furyl)-2,5-bis(2-hydroxy-3-formyl-5-methylbenzyl)-2,5-diazahexane (3) starting from 2,6-bis(hydroxymethyl)-4-methylphenol (4) is reported. Compound 4 was partially oxidized with preactivated manganese dioxide to form compound 5, which was converted to 2-hydroxy-3-chloromethyl-5-ethylbenzaldehyde (6) with conc.HCl/EtOH. Compound 6 in turn reacted with N,N’-bis (2-furyl)-1,2-diaminoethane (7) in the presence of K2CO3 in ethanol to give the title compound 3. No protecting groups were required in the whole process and the conditions were mild.