Thiol-Triggered Tandem Dearomative Michael Addition/Intramolecular Henry Reaction of 2-Nitrobenzofurans: Access to Sulfur-Containing Polyheterocyclic Compounds

Org Lett. 2024 Apr 5;26(13):2623-2628. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.4c00646. Epub 2024 Mar 24.

Abstract

An efficient dearomative cyclization of 2-nitrobenzofurans via a thiol-triggered tandem Michael addition/intramolecular Henry reaction has been developed. A range of thiochromeno[3,2-b]benzofuran-11-ols and tetrahydrothieno[3,2-b]benzofuran-3-ols could be obtained in up to 99% yield and up to >20:1 dr. The valuable thiochromone fused benzofurans could be prepared with the reaction of 2-nitrobenzofurans and 2-mercaptobenzaldehyde via the tandem dearomative Michael addition/intramolecular Henry reaction/rearomatization/oxidative dehydrogenation process in a one-pot two-step operation. A mechanism for the reaction was tentatively proposed.