Palladium-catalyzed oxidative carbonylation for the synthesis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

A direct and facile palladium-catalyzed C-H bond oxidative carbonylation reaction and oxidative cyclization for the synthesis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is reported herein. The intramolecular cyclocarbonylation, through C-H activation and C-C, C-O bond formations under mild conditions, proceeds smoothly with good functional group tolerance in high to excellent yields. The intramolecular palladium-catalyzed direct oxidative C-H bond functionalization for the C-O bond formation is also demonstrated, which provides an efficient approach for the construction of various PAHs.