Potassium tert-Butoxide-Promoted Tandem Cyclization of Organoselenium Alkynyl Aryl Propargyl Ethers

Base-promoted cyclization of 3-organoselenyl-methylene-2-alkynyl aryl propargyl ethers has been developed for the synthesis of 3-butylselanyl-methylene benzofurans, 3-methyl-2-alkynyl-benzofurans, and 4-iodo-benzo[b]furan-fused selenopyrans. Under potassium tert-butoxide as the base and tetrahydrofuran as the solvent, at room temperature, 3-organoselenyl-methylene-2-alkynyl aryl propargyl ethers were converted into 3-butylselanyl-methylene benzofurans via a 5-exo-dig mode. Using the same substrate, changing the solvent to dimethylsulfoxide, 3-methyl-2-alkynyl-benzofurans were selectively obtained in good yields. From 3-butylselanyl-methylene benzofurans, 4-iodo-benzo[b]furan-fused selenopyrans were prepared through a nucleophilic cyclization promoted by molecular iodine. The optimization of the reaction conditions showed that the solvents governed the regioselectivity of this cyclization and the initial formation of the dimsyl anion by the reaction of dimethylsulfoxide with potassium tert-butoxide was crucial for the 3-methyl-2-alkynyl-benzofuran preparation. We also proposed the mechanism for the formation of the products, demonstrated that the methodology can be scaled up, and showed the application of the prepared compounds as substrate in further transformations.