Conversion of 1,2-dichloroethane to vinyl ethers: A new reaction for utilization of chloroorganic wastes

The unsustainable production of chemicals results in the accumulation of chloroorganic wastes, 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) being a considerable fraction of these. According to the recent findings, DCE could be one of the main products of upcycling of widely used plastics. To meet the issue of rational DCE utilization, we suggest to use it as a synthetic equivalent of acetylene in the synthesis of high-demand vinyl ethers that find application in materials chemistry and in medicine. DCE readily reacts with alcohols in a superbasic system to afford various vinyloxyalkanes and their derivatives in good yields. The process is based on a simple and inexpensive reagent (KOH) and a nontoxic and recyclable solvent (DMSO) and provides a promising approach for the fast and cost-effective utilization of DCE wastes formed during the synthesis and processing of plastics.