Electrophilic substitution metal-catalyzed intramolecular reaction

Several other mechanistically distinct metal-catalyzed dearomatization procedures have been reported, and almost all involve phenol or naphthol derivatives undergoing dearomatization via intramolecular transformations. Intramolecular Pd- and Rh-catalyzed C4-arylation and alkylation of /)ara-substituted phenols has been used to construct compounds of general structure 82 (Fig. 15.1) [86]. These reactions rely on generation of electrophilic aryl or alkyl o-metal complex intermediates that participate in tandem C4 metalation-reductive elimination with an attached phenol. Ruthenium- and Pt-catalyzed reactions of naphthalenes and alkynes deliver spirocyclic products such as 83 [87, 88]. An asymmetric intramolecular naphthalene dearomatization catalyzed by Pd(0)-phosphine complexes has been used to prepare carbazole derivatives 84 in good enantiomeric excess from l-(AI-2-bromophenyl)aminonaphthalene precursors [89]. 

The reactivity of allenyl ketones is also manifested in the Hg(II)-catalyzed ipso substitution that converts 54 to spirodione 55 (Eq. 13.17) [19]. The reaction presumably involves activation of the allene by Hg(II), followed by intramolecular electrophilic attack on the aromatic ring. Hydrolytic cleavage of the metal from the intermediate product of the reaction, followed by rearrangement leads to the observed spirocyclic dione. 

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