Access to Substituted Furans via I ₂ ‐Catalyzed Oxidative Cyclization of Unsaturated Ketones

Owing to their inherently electron‐rich nature, furan rings are susceptible to oxidation, resulting in the relative scarcity of reported methodologies for furan synthesis that depend on oxidative cyclization. Significantly, there are no documented protocols for constructing furan rings via the metal‐free oxidative cyclization of unactivated enones. Herein, we report a novel approach to substituted furans via iodine‐catalyzed oxidative cyclization of enones lacking electron‐withdrawing groups adjacent to the unsaturated ketone moiety, providing access to fused polycyclic furans for optoelectronic applications and bioactive diaryl‐substituted furan‐3‐carboxylates. This protocol differs from conventional furan synthesis strategies and opens up avenues for developing synthetic methodologies for furans from reductive equivalents of 1,4‐diketones.