Annulation of β‑Enaminonitriles with Alkynes via Rh^III-Catalyzed C–H Activation: Direct Access to Highly Substituted 1‑Naphthylamines and Naphtho[1,8-<i>bc</i>]pyridines

A Cp*RhIII-catalyzed oxidative annulation of β-enaminonitriles with alkynes was reported to achieve selective synthesis of polysubstituted 1-naphthylamines and naphtho­[1,8-bc]­pyridines via multiple C–H activations. Assisted by a naphthylamine NH2 group, 1-naphthylamines were also readily cyclized to produce naphtho­[1,8-bc]­pyridines. In addition, the obtained naphtho­[1,8-bc]­pyridine derivatives exhibit intense fluorescence in the solid state