Rhodium(III)-catalyzed oxidative annulation of isoquinolones with allyl alcohols: synthesis of isoindolo[2,1- b ]isoquinolin-5(7 H )-ones.

An efficient rhodium(III)-catalyzed direct C-H oxidative annulation of isoquinolones with allyl alcohols as C1 synthons has been successfully developed. This protocol enables the straightforward synthesis of structurally diverse isoindolo[2,1- b ]isoquinolin-5(7 H )-ones with high atom economy, tolerates a broad spectrum of functionalities, and is applicable to one-pot operation from readily available N -methoxybenzamides.