Electrochemical Oxidative [4+2] Annulation of Different Styrenes toward the Synthesis of 1,2-Dihydronaphthalenes

Abstract

A [4+2] annulation of two different styrenes to construct polysubstituted 1,2-dihydronaphthalenes was achieved. This transformation proceeded smoothly under electrochemical oxidative conditions without metal catalysts and external oxidants. A series of polysubstituted 1,2-dihydronaphthalenes were obtained with high regioselectivity and diastereoselectivity. Moreover, polysubstituted 1,2- dihydronaphthalenes were further transformed to polysubstituted 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalenes and polysubstituted naphthalenes, which show great potential in synthetic applications.