Cascade Reaction of 2-Naphthols and Azirines: One-Pot Synthesis of C-3 Naphthol-Substituted Benzo[ e]indoles

J Org Chem. 2021 Nov 5;86(21):15631-15639. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.1c02164. Epub 2021 Oct 13.

Abstract

A copper-catalyzed annulation of 3-aryl-2H-azirines with 2-naphthols has been developed for the rapid assembly of C-3-naphthol-substituted benzo[e]indoles in one pot. This cascade reaction was realized through dearomatic nucleophilic ring opening of azirine, intramolecular cyclization, and oxidative cross-dehydrogenative coupling to furnish the important unreported π-expanded naphthol/benzo[e]indole biaryls.