Rhodium(III)‐Catalyzed C‐H Activation of Benzoylacetonitriles and Cyclization with Sulfoxonium Ylides to Naphthols

Rhodium(III)‐Catalyzed C−H activation of benzoylacetonitriles in coupling with sulfoxonium ylides was developed to synthesize diversified substituted naphthols, in which aryl, heterocyclic and alkyl groups in sulfoxonium ylides are tolerated. Intriguingly, we have further implemented transformation for 1‐naphthols to give some intriguing fused tricyclic compounds and derivatives of propranolol, which demonstrate the practical utility of this methodology.