Recent Advances in the Cascade Cyclization Reactions of 1,7‐Enynes

Abstract Elaborated molecular architectures, especially carbocyclic, heterocyclic, endocyclic, and polycyclic molecular structures, serve as an important class of organic complexes because they are frequently occurring core structural units in a variety of biologically and pharmacologically relevant natural products, drug molecules, agrochemicals, and functional materials. A main challenge of current synthetic approaches is the development of strategically efficient and selective formation of these compounds from easy‐to‐handle starting materials. The cascade cyclizations of 1,7‐enynes have afforded an indispensable method for accessing molecular complexity and diversity, thus highlighting their potential significance in both academic and industrial communities. In the last decades, tremendous efforts have been devoted to discovering convenient routes to access sophisticated annulation derivatives, and a wide range of powerful and straightforward synthetic strategies have been reported. In this review, the latest achievements in the cascade cyclization reactions of 1,7‐enynes are summarized, which could be separated into three categories: (1) Visible‐light‐induced reactions of 1,7‐enynes; (2) Metal‐free catalyzed reactions of 1,7‐enynes; (3) Transition‐metal‐catalyzed reactions of 1,7‐enynes.