Cobalt-catalyzed regio- and diastereoselective carbocyclization/arylation of 1,5-bisallenes

Abstract

Transition metal-catalyzed carbocyclization of allenes is a versatile method for the construction of structurally diverse cyclic compounds. The carbocyclization of bisallenes is less explored due to the inherent difficulty in controlling the reaction reactivity and selectivity. Herein, we report the first non-precious cobalt-catalyzed carbocyclization/arylation of 1,5-bisallenes with aryl boronic acids, affording cis-disubstituted pyrroles with high regio- and diastereoselectivity, as well as wide functional group compatibility. Moreover, a subgram-scale experiment and downstream transformations are presented.