Palladium(II) Chloride-Catalyzed Aerobic Oxidative Intermolecular Cycloaddition Reaction of 2-Alkynylbenz- aldehydes and Electron-Deficient Terminal Alkenes: An Efficient Synthesis of Naphthyl Ketones

We describe a simple and efficient synthetic methodology for the synthesis of a library of 2,4‐dicarbonyl‐substituted naphthalene derivatives through the PdCl2‐catalyzed aerobic oxidative intermolecular cycloaddition of 2‐alkynylbenzaldehydes to some electron‐deficient terminal alkenes. A wide variety of functionalized 2‐alkynylbenzaldehydes and electron‐deficient alkenes were examined for this reaction to deliver the corresponding naphthyldicarbonyl compounds in moderate to good yields.