Nine-Membered Benzofuran-Fused Heterocycles: Enantioselective Synthesis by Pd-Catalysis and Rearrangement via Transannular Bond Formation

The first enantioselective formal [5+4] cycloaddition is realized under palladium catalysis to deliver benzofuran-fused nine-membered rings. These medium-sized heterocycles and derivatives undergo unique rearrangements induced by transannular bond formation, resulting in the production of two classes of densely substituted polycyclic heterocycles in excellent efficiency and stereoselectivity