Synthesis of Phenolic Coumestans via a Sequential Dehydrogenation/Oxa-Michael Addition Reaction of 2',4'-Dihydroxyl-3-arylcoumarins

A facile and practical approach for the synthesis of natural coumestans and derivatives starting from 2',4'-dihydroxyl-3-arylcoumarins has been developed. The process involved a seqential intramolecular dehydrogenation/oxa-Micheal reaction efficiently promoted by 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene at 40 °C under metal- and ligand-free conditions with good functional group compatibility.

Efficient synthesis of 4-sulfanylcoumarins from 3-bromo-coumarins via a highly selective DABCO-mediated one-pot thia-Michael addition/elimination process

A facile and efficient protocol for the highly selective direct sulfanylation of 3-bromocoumarins under DABCO promotion, was developed. The transformation took place with aromatic and aliphatic thiols as well as with α,ω-dithiols, affording the expected products in very good to excellent yields. Simple and convenient ways to access 4-((ω-mercaptoalkyl) thio)coumarins and the dimeric 4,4′-(alkane-1,4-diylbis(sulfanediyl))bis(coumarins) were also devised with the use of α,ω-alkanedithiols in different ratios with regards to the starting 3-bromocoumarin. The transformation seems to proceed through the DABCO-mediated thia-Michael stereoselective addition of the thiolate anion to the α,β-unsaturated carbonyl system of the coumarin, followed by a DABCO-assisted stereoselective dehydrobromination of the resulting α-bromo carbonyl intermediate.

A facile, simple and metal-free protocol for the 4-sulfanylation of 3-bromocoumarins was developed. It involves a thia-Michael addition and a dehydrobromination under DABCO assistance.

Copper-catalyzed intramolecular cross dehydrogenative coupling approach to coumestans from 2'-hydroxyl-3-arylcoumarins

A copper-catalyzed intramolecular cross dehydrogenative C-O coupling reaction of 2'-hydroxyl-3-arylcoumarins was developed. This protocol provided a facile and efficient strategy for the construction of natural coumestans and derivatives in moderate to high yields. This transformation exhibited good functional group compatibility and was amenable to substrates with free phenolic hydroxyl groups.

One-pot two-step synthesis of 3-iodo-4-aryloxy coumarins and their Pd/C-catalyzed annulation to coumestans

An efficient protocol for the synthesis of various coumestans from the intramolecular annulation of 3-iodo-4-aryloxy coumarins through C–H activation has been developed.

Collective Syntheses of 2-(3-Methylbenzofuran-2-yl)phenol-Derived Natural Products by a Cascade [3,3]-Sigmatropic Rearrangement/Aromatization Strategy

A cascade [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement/aromatization strategy to the synthesis of 2-(3-methylbenzofuran-2-yl)phenol derivatives was developed and applied to the collective syntheses of seven 2-arylbenzofuran-containing natural products, namely glycybenzofuran, glycyuralin E, lespedezol A₁, puerariafuran, 7,2',4'-trihydroxy-3-benzofurancarboxylic acid, coumestrol, and 4'-O-methylcoumestrol. Among them, the total syntheses of glycybenzofuran, glycyuralin E, puerariafuran, 7,2',4'-trihydroxy-3-benzofurancarboxylic acid, and 4'-O-methylcoumestrol were reported for the first time. The practicality of this novel strategy in preparation of the key intermediates was demonstrated by performing the reaction on gram scale and by synthesizing a series of natural products with 2-(3-methylbenzofuran-2-yl)phenol scaffolds in a common strategy.

Palladacycle-Catalyzed Triple Suzuki Coupling Strategy for the Synthesis of Anthracene-Based OLED Emitters

The development of the site-selective Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of dibromoanthracene as an efficient strategy toward organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) is disclosed in this article. An unprecedented step-economic palladacycle-promoted triple Suzuki coupling protocol allowed the synthesis of three new OLED emitters and could prove to be a useful general strategy for researchers working in this field. Characterization of the synthesized molecules by UV-vis spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis-differential scanning calorimetry followed by density functional theory studies of the different properties strongly confirms the derivatives possess more significant hole mobility character than electron transfer capability.

A Practical and Diastereoselective Synthesis of Dihydrofurocoumarin from Pyridinium Ylides in Aqueous Medium

A series of 2,3-dihydrofurocoumarins were prepared via a three-component reaction of aldehyde, pyridinium salt and 4-hydroxycoumarin in aqueous ethanol. This method avoids using excessive pyridine and trimethylamine, and has operational simplicity and avoids tedious column chromatography purification. Both aryl aldehydes and aliphatic aldehydes are applicable to this protocol.

Intramolecular cross dehydrogenative coupling of 4-substituted coumarins: rapid and efficient access to coumestans and indole[3,2-c]coumarins

A palladium-catalyzed highly efficient and atom-economical intramolecular cross dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) reaction to access fused polyheterocycles containing a coumarin nucleus has been developed.