A practicable environmentally benign one-pot synthesis of 2-arylbenzofurans at room temperature

An environmentally friendly one-pot synthesis of 2-arylbenzofurans under ambient temperature has been developed. It features an ortho-hydroxyl group assisted Wittig reaction of substituted salicylaldehyde followed by an in situ oxidative cyclization. Its advantages include readily available and non-hazardous materials, benign reaction conditions (room temperature, green solvent and one-pot manner), easy workup and high overall yields. Utilizing this methodology, various 2-aryl-benzofurans including four natural products have been synthesized.