Facile diversification of simple benzo[b]thiophenes via thienobenzyne intermediates

Abstract

Thienobenzynes, which are thiophene-fused novel benzyne species, are efficiently generated via an iodine-magnesium exchange reaction of ortho-iodoaryl triflate-type precursors using a silylmethyl Grignard reagent as the activator. The method allows for facile preparation of a diverse range of multisubstituted benzothiophenes from readily available simple benzothiophenes.