Synthesis of a versatile 1 H-indene-3-carboxylate scaffold enabled by visible-light promoted Wolff rearrangement of 1-diazonaphthalen-2(1 H)-ones

Chem Commun (Camb). 2023 May 23;59(42):6363-6366. doi: 10.1039/d3cc01093g.

Abstract

Herein, we have developed a sequential visible-light-promoted Wolff rearrangement of 1-diazonaphthalen-2(1H)-ones, followed by capturing the in situ generated ketene intermediates with various alcohols, producing diverse 1H-indene-3-carboxylates in moderate to good yields under mild reaction conditions. The broad substrate scope, high functional group tolerance, and robust conditions make the resulting derivative a versatile platform for the synthesis of plenty of bioactive molecules.