Efficient Access to Methyl-1-hydroxy-2-naphthoates and Heterocyclic Analogues

We report the synthesis of methyl-1-hydroxy-2-naphthoate derivatives and heterocyclic analogues using a two-step approach. This short route employs a Heck coupling of a 2-halo-benzoate with methyl 3-butenoate followed by a Dieckmann cyclization, yielding the 1-hydroxynaphthalene-2-carboxylic acid derivatives in the multigram scale.