Electrochemical Oxidative [4+2] Annulation of Different Styrenes toward the Synthesis of 1,2 Dihydronaphthalenes

A [4+2] annulation of two different styrenes to construct polysubstituted 1,2-dihydronaphthalenes was achieved. This transformation proceeded smoothly under electrochemical oxidative conditions without metal catalysts and external oxidants. A series of polysubstituted 1,2-dihydronaphthalenes were obtained with high regioselectivity and dia-stereoselectivity. Moreover, polysubstituted 1,2-dihydronaphthalenes were further transformed to polysubstituted 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalenes and polysubstituted naphthalenes, which show great potential in synthetic applications. [GRAPHICS] .

Automated summary

A [4+2] annulation reaction was used to efficiently synthesize polysubstituted 1,2-dihydronaphthalenes. This transformation proceeded smoothly under electrochemical oxidative conditions without metal catalysts and external oxidants, and exhibited high regio- and dia-stereoselectivity. Furthermore, the obtained polysubstituted 1,2-dihydronaphthalenes could be further transformed into polysubstituted 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalenes and polysubstituted naphthalenes with great synthetic potential.