METAL-ASSISTED REACTIONS .27. 3-BENZYLOXY-1,2-BENZISOTHIAZOLE 1,1-DIOXIDE - AN UNUSUAL ETHER LINKAGE THAT DOES NOT PERMIT HETEROGENEOUS CATALYTIC HYDROGENOLYSIS

Aryl or allyl ethers of some heterocyclic systems can be readily hydro genolysed or cross-coupled catalytically with transition metals to giv e arenes, alkenes or alkanes, Unexpectedly for transition metals, the corresponding alkyl and, particularly, benzyl ethers are totally inert , an X-ray structure determination on 3-benzyloxy-1,2-benzisothiazole 1,1-dioxide 1 has shown that there is no inherent structural reason fo r this major difference, apart from the absence of a suitable p-orbita l in the benzyl ethers.