One-pot synthesis of novel photochromic oxazine compounds.

A one-pot domino synthesis of photochromic 2,2-diarylphenanthro-(9,10)-[2H]-[1,4]-oxazines in excellent yield is described starting with acrylic acid derivatives. The reaction mechanism was studied by ReactIR and UV-vis. The cascade sequence of the reactions involves five transformations, namely, acyl azide formation, Curtius rearrangement, arsonium ylide formation, aza-Wittig, and final cyclization to the title compounds.