Recent advances in transition-metal-catalyzed annulations for the construction of 1-Indanone core

Indanone-containing scaffolds are attractive synthetic targets because of their wide occurrence in many natural products, drugs and functional materials. In the last few years, enormous efforts have been devoted to the development of the 1-indanone core. The present review aims to cover the last four years’ (2017–2020) efforts towards the construction of 1-indanone skeletons based on transition-metal-catalyzed annulation strategies. In this context, important transition-metal based photocatalytic cyclizations have also been discussed. In most cases, the general reaction mechanisms, key intermediates, and application of several novel ligands are highlighted. Interestingly, some of the methodologies have been useful in the synthesis of natural products and compounds of biological relevance.