Unsaturated Phosphonates as Hauser Acceptors for the Synthesis of Phosphonylated Dihydroxynaphthalenes and Naphthoquinones

The unsaturated phosphonates were utilized as Hauser acceptors successfully for the first time. The products phosphonylated 1,4-dihydroxynaphthalenes were isolated in good yields in short reaction time and were further oxidized to the corresponding 1,4-naphthoquinones in quantitative yields. The reaction provides an efficient and straightforward approach for the synthesis of pharmacologically privileged disubstituted naphthalene-1,4-diols and naphtha-1,4-diones bearing a phosphonate group at the 2-position and various (het)aryl groups at the 3-position.