Palladium-Catalyzed Cascade Reactions of 2-(Cyanomethoxy)chalcones with Arylboronic Acids: Selective Synthesis of Emissive Benzofuro[2,3-c]pyridines

The Pd(II)-catalyzed cascade reactions of 2-(cyanomethoxy)chalcones with arylboronic acids were demonstrated, allowing the rapid construction of benzofuro[2,3-c]pyridine skeletons with excellent selectivity. These transformations involve the domino-style formation of C-C/C-C/C-N bonds through nitrile carbopalladation, intramolecular Michael addition, cyclization, and aromatization. This chemistry allows for the reactions of 2-(cyanomethoxy)-chalcones with thiophen-3-ylboronic acid, providing 3-aryl-1-(thiophen-3-yl)benzofuro[2,3-c]pyridines in moderate to good yields. In addition, the resulting products represent a new class of emissive fluorophores.