Copper-Catalyzed Oxidative Ring Closure and Carboarylation of 2- Ethynyl-Anilides Ádám Sinai, Ádám Mészáros, Tamás Gáti, † Veronika Kudar, ‡ Anna Palló, ‡ Zoltán Novák* MTA-ELTE „Lendület” Catalysis and Organic Synthesis Research Group, Institute of Chemistry, Eötvös University, Pázmány Péter stny. 1/a H-1117 Budapest, Hungary † Servier Research Institute of Medicinal Chemistry, Záhony utca 7. H-1031 Budapest, Hungary ‡ Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pusztaszeri út 59-67. H-1025 Budapest, Hungary novakz@elte.hu Received Date (will be automatically inserted after manuscript is accepted) A new copper catalyzed oxidative ring closure of ethynyl anilides with diaryliodonium salts were developed for the highly modular construction of benzoxazines bearing fully substituted exo double bond. The oxidative transformation includes an unusual 6-exo-dig cyclization step with the formation of C-O and C-C bond. Synthesis and functionalization of aromatic and heteroaromatic systems through C-H activation and oxidative coupling are the most important areas of current organic syntheses. 1 Iodonium salts 2 are useful coupling partners and their use enables the introduction of ethynyl 3 and aryl 4 moieties into the aromatic and heteroaromatic substrates via transition metal-catalyzed oxidative transformations. In the presence of directing groups with the appropriate choice of metal catalyst the incoming functional group can be directed selectively into the aromatic ring. As it was described by Daugulis the palladium catalyzed arylation of anilides gives ortho aryl acetanilides, 5 while copper-triflate catalyzed arylation of pivalanilides provide selectively meta 1 (a) Wencel-Delord, J.; Dröge, T.; Liu, F.; Glorius, F. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2011, 40, 4740. (b) Mei, T.-S.; Kou, L. Ma, S. Engle, K. M. Yu, J.-Q. Synthesis 2012, 44, 1778. (c) Liu, C. Zhang, H. Shi, W. Lei, A. Chem. Rev. 2011, 111, 1780; (d) Lyons, T. W.; Sanford, M. S Chem. Rev. 2010, 110, 1147–1169; (e) Daugulis, O.; Do, H.-Q.; Shabashov, O. Acc. Chem. Res. 2009, 42, 1074. (f) Chen, X.; Engle, K. M.; Wang, D.-H.; Yu J.-Q. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2009, 48, 5094. (g) Catellani, M.; Motti, E.; Della Ca’, N. Acc. Chem. Res. 2008, 41, 1512. (h) S. R. Neufeldt, S. R.; Sanford, M. S. Acc. Chem. Res. 2012, 45, 936. (i) Wencel-Delord, J.; Glorius, F. Nature Chemistry 2013, 5, 369.(j) Johnson, K. R. D.; Hayes, P. G. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2013, 42, 1947. 2 (a) Hypervalent Iodine Chemistry in Topics in Current Chemistry, Vol 224 (Ed. Wirth, T. Springer, 2003, pp.1-265); (b) Merritt, E. A.; Olofsson, B. Angew. Chem. Int Ed. 2009, 48, 9052. (c) Bouma, J. M.; Olofsson, B. Chem. Eur. J. 2012, 18, 14242. d) Merritt, E. A.; Carneiro, V. M. T.; Silva Jr., L. F.; Olofsson, B. J. Org. Chem. 2010, 75, 7416. e) Merritt, E. A.; Malmgren, J.; Klinke, F. J.; Olofsson, B. Synlett 2009, 2277. (f) Bielawski, M.; Aili, D.; Olofsson, B. J. Org. Chem. 2008, 73, 4602. (g) Zhu, M.; Jalalian, N.; Olofsson, B. Synlett, 2008, 592. (h) Bielawski, M.; Zhu, M.; Olofsson, B.; Adv. Synth. Catal. 2007, 349, 2610. 3 _(a) Li, Y.; Brand, J. P.; Waser, J. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 6743. (b) Tolnai, G. L.; Ganss, S.; Brand, J. P.; Waser, J. Org. Lett. 2013, 15, 112. (d) Brand, J. P.; Waser, J. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2012, 41, 4165. (e) Brand, J. P.; Waser, J. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2010, 49, 7304. (f) Brand, J. P.; Charpentier, J.; Waser, J. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2009, 48, 9346. 4 (a) Ciana, C.-L.; Phipps, R. J.; Brandt, J. R.; Meyer, F.-M.; Gaunt, M. J. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 458. (b) Duong, H. A.; Gilligan, R. E.; Cooke, M. J.; Phipps, R. J.; Gaunt, M .J. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 463. (c) Phipps, R. J.; Grimster, N. P.; Gaunt, M. J. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 8172. (d). Hickman, A. J ; Sanford, M. ACS Catalysis, 2011, 1, 170. (e) Storr, T. E.; Greaney, M. F. Org. Lett. 2013, 15, 1410. (f) Kalyani, D.; Deprez, N. R.; Desai, L. V. Sanford, M. S. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 7330. (g) Bedford, R. B.; Mitchell, C. J.; Webster, R. L. Chem. Commun. 2010, 46, 3095. (h) Xiao, B.; Fu, Y.; Xu, J.; Gong, T.-J.; Dai, J.-J.; Yi, J.; Liu, L. Lei, A. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 468. 5 Daugulis, O.; Zaitsev, V. G. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2005, 44, 4046.