One-Pot Preparation of 9,10-Dihydrophenanthrenes Initiated by Rhodium(III)-Catalyzed C-H Activation and Relay Diels-Alder Reaction

Org Lett. 2020 Jun 5;22(11):4300-4305. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.0c01339. Epub 2020 May 26.

Abstract

An efficient one-pot synthesis of multisubstituted 9,10-dihydrophenanthrenes from easily available 2-arylazaarenes and cyclohexadienone-tethered terminal alkynes (1,6-enynes) has been successfully achieved. This domino reaction proceeded smoothly through Cp*Rh(III)-catalyzed C-H activation, direct protonation of alkenyl-Rh intermediates, intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction, alkene isomerization, subsequent ring-opening aromatization, and acetylation. This strategy was pot-economical and tolerated a wide range of functional groups. Moreover, the potent anticancer activities against HepG2 cells were observed for these artificial 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene derivatives.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't