Skeleton Reorganization of Substituted Benzocyclobutenols through Rh-Catalyzed C-C Bond Cleavage Manipulated by Hydrogen Transfer

Org Lett. 2021 Oct 1;23(19):7597-7602. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.1c02813. Epub 2021 Sep 17.

Abstract

Although transition-metal-catalyzed C-C bond activation has been investigated extensively, C-C bond cleavage manipulated by hydrogen transfer has been unexplored. In this work, we disclose a skeleton reorganization of alkene-tethered benzocyclobutenols through Rh-catalyzed C-C bond cleavage coupled with intra- and intermolecular hydrogen transfer. The reaction pathway was well-tuned by the catalytic systems. As a result, divergent benzofurans bearing 4-β-hydroxy or 4-β-keto moieties were synthesized under pH- and redox-neutral conditions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't