Palladium-catalyzed synthesis of indene-1-acetates via sequential double carbopalladation and aryloxycarbonylation

Abstract

A novel palladium-catalyzed cascade reaction of o-iodostyrenes, internal alkynes and formates to access various indene-1-acetates was developed. This method enables the construction of three C–C bonds and one C–O bond through sequential double carbopalladation and aryloxycarbonylation under a palladium/air system. This protocol exhibits high regioselectivity and wide functional group tolerance. In addition, the synthetic utility of this protocol has been successfully demonstrated by the gram-scale synthesis and the late-stage modification of a series of complex bioactive molecules.