Water-Tolerant ortho-Acylation of Phenols.

A metal-free, water-tolerant, and one-pot process for ortho-acylation of phenols promoted by the iodine source/hydrogen peroxide system has been developed. This transformation undergoes ether formation, iodocyclization, C-C bond cleavage, and oxidative hydrolysis in a one-step manner, which is supported by control experiments.