A novel manganese(III) acetate mediated reaction between 2-benzoyl-1,4-naphthoquinones and 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds.

A manganese(III)-mediated reaction between 2-benzoyl-1,4-naphthoquinones and 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds is described. This reaction provides an effective method for the synthesis of naphtho[2,3-c]furan-4,9-diones and naphthacene-5,12-diones, and it shows fair to high chemoselectivity depending on the electronic effect of the benzoyl group substituent on the reactants. With ethyl benzoylacetate and 1,3-diketones, the novel naphtho[2,3-c]furan-4,9-diones were produced effectively with high selectivity.