Pd/Norbornene-Catalyzed Tandem o-C-H Alkylation or Acylation/ipso-Intramolecular Direct Arylation of Aryl Bromides.

A novel palladium-catalyzed, norbornene-mediated ortho-intermolecular C-H functionalization/ipso-intramolecular direct arylation of aryl bromides is reported. Through careful tuning of the reaction conditions, ortho-alkylation and acylation of aryl bromides have been realized with good efficiency. This method provides a novel route to afford abundant polycyclic and heteroaromatic compounds from simple and readily available raw material under mild conditions. This transformation is scalable and tolerates a broad range of functional groups.