Tandem C - and O -alkylative annulation of β-ketosulfones with 1,2-bisbromomethyl arenes: one-pot construction of sulfonyl indanes and dioxadibenzofused macrocycles.

Herein, a tandem synthetic route for constructing sulfonyl indanes and dioxadibenzofused macrocycles is described. This strategy involves a transition-metal-free, base-mediated tandem C - and O -alkylative annulation of β-ketosulfones with 1,2-bisbromomethyl arenes with moderate to excellent yields under open-vessel reaction conditions. In the overall reaction process, two carbon-carbon (C-C) and two carbon-oxygen (C-O) bonds are formed. Various base-promoted reaction conditions are screened for this one-pot easy-to-operate conversion.