Radical Addition/Cyclization Reaction of 2-Vinylanilines with Alkynes: Synthesis of Naphthalenes via Electron Catalysis.

A cascade radical addition/cyclization reaction of 2-vinylanilines with alkynes for the synthesis of biologically important naphthalene derivatives is reported. In this transformation, the in-situ-formed diazonium salts from 2-vinylanilines served as efficient aryl radical precursors and the reaction was run under metal-free conditions.