Oxidation of the Mn(III)-cyanoenolate complex derived from 3,3′-(1,4-phenylene)bis(3-oxopropanenitrile) (1) with 1,1-diarylethenes 2a–c proceeded in a one-pot manner in refluxing AcOH, affording the corresponding 2,2’-(1,4-phenylene)bis(5,5-diaryl-4,5-dihydrofuran-3-carbonitrile)s in good yields. Similarly, Mn(III)-mediated reactions of (arenediyl)bis(3-oxopropanenitrile)s derived from dibenzothiophene, dibenzofuran, fluorene, and xanthene afforded the corresponding (arenediyl)bis(4,5-dihydrofuran-3-carbonitrile)s 9–12. Various transformations of the (arenediyl)bis(3-oxopropanenitrile)s 5–8 and their corresponding products 9–12 were proposed.
Nakashima et al. (Wed,) studied this question.