Recent Computational Studies on Mechanisms of Hypervalent Iodine(III)-Promoted Dearomatization of Phenols

Hypervalent iodine-promoted dearomatization of phenols has received intense attention. This mini-review summarizes recent computational mechanistic studies of phenolic dearomatizations promoted by hypervalent iodine(III) reagents or catalysts. The first part of this review describes mechanisms of racemic dearomatization of phenols, paying special attention to the associative and dissociative pathways. The second part focuses on mechanisms and selectivities of diastereo- or enantio-selective dearomatization of phenols.