Polyaromatic Ribbon/Benzofuran Fusion via Consecutive Endo Cyclizations of Enediynes

The Sonogashira/5-endo-dig/6-endo-dig cascade fuses a polycyclic aromatic backbone to the electron-rich furan subunit. The transformation proceeds in modest yields as a one-pot reaction. Efficiency of the full cascade is increased by removal of base prior to the addition of gold catalyst. Under these conditions, conversion to the full cascade products is achieved in nearly quantitative yields without purification of the intermediate products. Extension of the cascade toward triynes opens access to benzofuran-fused chrysene derivatives.