In(III)-TMSBr-Catalyzed Cascade Reaction of Diarylalkynes with Acrylates for the Synthesis of Aryldihydronaphthalene Derivatives.

A combined Lewis acid system comprising of two or more Lewis acids occasionally exhibits augmented catalytic activity in organic transformations which are otherwise unrealizable by either of the components exclusively. On the other hand, the efficient construction of multiple new C-C bonds and polycyclic structures in minimal steps remains a subject of great interest in both academia and industry. Herein we report an efficient method to assemble aryldihydronaphthalene derivatives via a cascade reaction of diarylalkynes with acrylates under the catalysis of a combined Lewis acid derived from In(III) salt and TMSBr.

Preparation of highly substituted (ß-acylamino)acrylates via iron-catalyzed alkoxycarbonylation of N-vinylacetamides with carbazates.

An efficient iron(II)-catalyzed alkoxycarbonylation reaction between N-vinylacetamides and carbazates is reported. The corresponding useful highly substituted (ß-acylamino)acrylates could be obtained in reasonable to good yields and stereoselectivity under mild reaction conditions.

Synthesis of multi-substituted pyrroles using enamides and alkynes catalyzed by Pd(OAc)2 with molecular oxygen as an oxidant.

A cyclization reaction between enamides and alkynes catalyzed by palladium(II) acetate is described. In this method, the molecular oxygen serves as an efficient oxidant for the Pd(II)/Pd(0) catalytic cycle. The simple reaction conditions permit this methodology to be used as a general tool for the preparation of multi-substituted pyrroles.