The Lewis acid-catalyzed Nazarov reaction of 2-(N-methoxycarbonylamino)-1,4-pentadien-3-ones

A highly efficient carbonylative Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction of lactam-derived vinyl triflates and alkenylboronic acids afforded 2-(N-methoxycarbonylamino)-1,4-pentadien-3-ones as suitable substrates for the Nazarov reaction. The most competent Lewis acids for the Nazarov reaction were Cu(OTf)(2) (2 mol %) and Sc(OTf)(3) (3 mol %) in DCE, which provided the Nazarov products in excellent yield. As both the carbonylative coupling and the subsequent Nazarov reaction were high yielding, the overall methodology is a concise and efficient route to [1]pyrindine systems.