Tandem Suzuki Coupling/Intramolecular Oxetane Ring Opening to Form Polycyclic Ring Systems

A tandem one-pot reaction featuring a cross-coupling followed by an intramolecular oxetane ring opening by mild nucleophiles is reported. The overall transformation comprises a carbon-carbon bond formation along with a carbon-heteroatom bond construction providing diverse multicyclic ring systems with a pendant hydroxymethyl handle for further elaboration. This approach constitutes a convergent method for rapid access to various scaffolds. Furthermore, a comparison of computed low-energy conformers is presented to rationalize instances in which cyclization was not observed.