Synthesis of Trisubstituted Oxazoles via Aryne Induced [2,3] Sigmatropic Rearrangement-Annulation Cascade

Org Lett. 2022 Jun 17;24(23):4145-4150. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.2c01379. Epub 2022 Jun 6.

Abstract

A transition-metal-free, [2,3] sigmatropic rearrangement-annulation cascade of 2-substituted thio/amino acetonitriles with arynes allowing the synthesis of 2,4,5-trisubstituted oxazoles under mild conditions has been demonstrated. The key sulfur/nitrogen ylides were generated by the initial S/N arylation followed by proton transfer, which was followed by the selective [2,3] sigmatropic rearrangement involving the -CN moiety and a subsequent annulation to afford the desired products in reasonable yields.