Ruthenium-catalyzed three-component tandem remote C-H functionalization of naphthalenes: modular and concise synthesis of multifunctional naphthalenes.

The prevalence of naphthalene compounds in biologically active natural products, organic ligands and approved drugs has motivated investigators to develop efficient strategies for their selective synthesis. C-H functionalization of naphthalene has been frequently deployed, but mainly involves two-component reactions, while multiple-component C-H functionalization for the synthesis of naphthalene compounds has thus far proven elusive. Herein, we disclose a versatile three-component protocol for the modular synthesis of multifunctional naphthalenes from readily available simple naphthalenes, olefins and alkyl bromides P(iii)-assisted ruthenium-catalyzed remote C-H functionalization.