Iodine(III)-Mediated Tandem Oxidative Cyclization for Construction of 2-Nitrobenzo[b]furans

Various 3-alkyl-2-nitrobenzo[b]furans were synthesized from common intermediate 2-(2-nitroethyl)phenols via a hypervalent iodine-induced oxidative cyclization, with good to excellent yields. This facile route is able to efficiently functionalize 2-nitrobenzo[b]furans, which are difficult to obtain by classical methods.