Nickel-Promoted Reductive Cyclization Cascade: A Short Synthesis of a New Aromatic Strigolactone Analogue

A stereospecific synthesis of the tetrahydro-2H-indeno[1,2-b]furan skeleton, which is embedded in bioactive aromatic strigolactones such as GR24, is realized by a nickel-mediated tandem cross-coupling for the first time. The observed cis-stereoselectivity during the intramolecular formation of the Csp(3)-Csp(2) bond is rationalized through conformation analysis and DFT calculations.