Transition‐Metal‐Free Cascade Cyclization/Dearomatization Reaction to Access Selenylated Spirocyclohexadienones

Abstract A transition‐metal‐free method is disclosed for the construction of selenylated spirocyclohexadienones via cascade cyclization/dearomatization reaction of aryl phenol‐tethered alkynes with diselenides. The high efficiency of this protocol was demonstrated by room temperature, simple reaction conditions, and the ability to enable a gram‐scale synthesis. The experiment results implied that the dearomatization process proceeded in a radical way.