One-Pot Synthesis of Benzene-Fused Medium-Ring Ketones: Gold Catalysis-Enabled Enolate Umpolung Reactivity

J Am Chem Soc. 2016 May 4;138(17):5515-8. doi: 10.1021/jacs.6b02533. Epub 2016 Apr 22.

Abstract

Enolate umpolung reactivities offer valuable and potentially unique alternatives over the enolate counterparts for the construction of ubiquitous carbonyl compounds. We disclose here that N-alkenoxypyridinium salts, generated readily upon gold-catalyzed additions of protonated pyridine N-oxide to C-C triple bonds of unactivated terminal alkynes, display versatile enolate umpolung chemistry upon heating and react with tethered arene nucleophiles in an SN2' manner. In a synthetically efficient one-pot, two-step process, this chemistry enables expedient preparation of valuable benzo-fused seven-/eight-membered cyclic ketones, including those of O-/N-heterocycles, from easily accessible aryl-substituted linear alkyne substrates. The reaction yields can be up to 87%.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Benzene / chemistry*
  • Catalysis
  • Cyclization
  • Gold / chemistry*
  • Ketones / chemical synthesis*
  • Ketones / chemistry

Substances

  • Ketones
  • Gold
  • Benzene