Synthesis of heterocyclic-fused benzopyrans via the Pd( ii )-catalyzed C–H alkenylation/C–O cyclization of flavones and coumarins

An efficient and practical method for effecting a tandem C-H alkenylation/C-O cyclization has been achieved via the C-H functionalization of flavone derivatives. The synthetic utility of the one-pot sequence was demonstrated by obtaining convenient access to coumarin-annelated benzopyrans. The reaction scope for the transformation was found to be fairly broad, affording good yields of a wide range of flavone- or coumarin-fused benzopyran motifs, which are privileged structures in many biologically active compounds.