Direct synthesis of substituted naphthalenes from 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds and 1,2-bis(halomethyl)benzenes including a novel rearrangement aromatization of benzo[c]oxepine.

An unexpected rearrangement aromatization of benzo[c]oxepine has been revealed to synthesize substituted naphthalenes. This observation was further exploited to develop an efficient approach for the construction of naphthalenes from simple and commercially available 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds and 1,2-bis(halomethyl)benzene compounds via a new domino reaction sequence.