Palladium-catalyzed annulation of alkynes with ortho-halide-containing benzyl alcohols in aqueous medium.

The Pd-catalyzed annulations of ortho-halide-containing benzyl alcohols with alkynes for the synthesis of indenones were achieved in aqueous Triton X-100 micelles with good yields and wide substrate scopes. Moreover, the indenones obtained in this procedure can be further functionalized to form some more synthetic useful derivatives via an environmental-friendly way.