Organocatalyzed benzannulation for the construction of diverse anthraquinones and tetracenediones.

An efficient one-pot synthesis of anthraquinones and tetracenediones was achieved via L-proline catalyzed [4+2] cycloaddition of in situ generated azadiene from α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and 1,4-naphthoquinones or 1,4-anthracenedione in good to excellent yield. This protocol constitutes an unprecedented tandem benzannulation that allows one-pot construction of diverse anthraquinones and tetracenediones in the presence of organocatalysts. This methodology was applied successfully to the synthesis of naturally occurring molecules and photochemically interesting phenanthrenequinone derivatives.