Dedicated to Professor Paul Knochel on the occasion of his 70th birthday.
Herein, we report a new practical flow chemical synthesis of benzofurans starting
from nitroalkanes and O-acetyl salicylaldehydes. The protocol involves two different sequential steps: (i)
an initial base-promoted nitroaldol condensation, and (ii) a Nef reaction promoted
by tin (II) chloride dihydrate. The target benzofurans are obtained in satisfactory
overall yields.
Keywords
Flow chemistry - Benzofurans - Nitroalkanes - Cyclization - Heterocycles