Approach to Construct Polysubstituted 1,2-Dihydronaphtho[2,1‑b]furans and Their Aerobic Oxidative Aromatization

Triarylaminium salt was disclosed as an efficient initiator for the novel Friedel–Crafts alkylation/annulation cascade reaction between chalcone epoxides and 2-naphthols to construct polysubstituted 1,2-dihydronaphtho[2,1-b]furans. The DDQ/NaNO2/O2 catalytic system was first applied to the aerobic oxidative aromatization of heterocycles, and a simple and efficient one-pot tandem FC alkylation/annulation/aerobic oxidative aromatization procedure was also developed for the synthesis of complex naphtho[2,1-b]furans.