Concise Synthesis of Isocoumarins through Rh-Catalyzed Direct Vinylene Annulation: Scope and Mechanistic Insight

Transition-metal-catalyzed activation of inert C–H bonds and subsequent C–C bond formation have emerged as powerful synthetic tools for the synthesis of elaborate cyclic molecules. In this report, we introduce an efficient synthetic method of 3,4-unsubstituted isocoumarins adopting an electron-deficient CpERh complex as the catalyst. The use of vinylene carbonate as a vinylene transfer reagent enables the direct construction of isocoumarins from readily available benzoic acids, without any external oxidants as well as bases. The reaction mechanism is evaluated by computational analysis to find an unprecedented “rhodium shift” event within the catalytic cycle.