Ring-closing olefin metathesis for the synthesis of benzene derivatives.

Benzene derivatives were synthesized in excellent yield from 1,4,7-trien-3-ols by tandem ruthenium-catalyzed ring-closing olefin metathesis (RCM)/dehydration. The method was extended to the tandem RCM/oxidation process to obtain phenol and aniline derivatives. This method displays many advantages over aromatic-substitution-based classical routes.