Reactions of ortho-lithiophenyl (-hetaryl) isocyanides with carbonyl compounds: rearrangements of 2-metalated 4H-3,1-benzoxazines.

ortho-Lithiophenyl (-hetaryl) isocyanides react with aldehydes and ketones providing isocyanoalcohols 8 (36-89%, nine examples), 4H-3,1-benzoxazines 9 (45-78%, six examples) or, after two types of rearrangements, isobenzofuran-1(3H)-imines (iminophthalanes) 18 (52-75%, four examples), or indolin-2-ones 19 (42-79%, two examples), depending on the reaction conditions and substitution patterns. Isocyanoalcohols 8, in turn, were converted to 9 or 18 under Cu(I) catalysis (66-86%, eight examples). 4H-3,1-Benzoxazin-4-ones 39-Nu and isatoic anhydride 40 were obtained by the reaction of 2 with carbon dioxide followed by trapping of the lithiated intermediate with iodine and subsequent reactions with nucleophiles (45-60%, three examples).