Palladium-Catalyzed Cycloaromatization/Alkylation of o-(Alkynyl)styrenes

A Pd(II)-catalyzed mild and highly regioselective 6-endo cyclization/alkylation reaction of o-(alkynyl)styrenes with simple allylic alcohols has been developed. Under mild reaction conditions, the vinyl palladium species generated in situ after cyclization could insert a C-C double bond of allylic alcohol through a cross-coupling reaction and led to the formation of (alkyl)naphthalenes. This cascade cross-coupling reaction represents a direct and atom economic method for the construction of functionalized naphthalene derivatives in moderate to good yields.