Rapid assembly of spirocycles with phenol-derived biaryls with alkynes using an oxidative C-H activation/dearomatization strategy

The development of new methods for the rapid assembly of spirocyclic frameworks with high molecular complexity is always of great importance for organic syntheses. In this perspective, we endeavour to cover the recent achievements from our group in the construction of synthetically valuable spirocyclohexadienones from easily accessible phenol-derived biaryls using a transition-metal-catalyzed C-H activation/dearomatization strategy. The key feature of these cooperative reactions is the simultaneous C-H bond activation and aromaticity disruption, leading to the formation of various spirocyclic molecules that are difficult or inaccessible using conventional approaches.