Rhodium-Catalyzed Carbonylative Synthesis of Benzosilinones.

In this work, a novel and practical procedure for the synthesis of benzosilinones by carbonylative cyclization has been developed. Various benzosilinones were isolated in moderate to good yields, using rhodium as the catalyst with good functional group tolerance. Not only symmetric alkynes but also nonsymmetric alkynes are applicable with excellent regioselectivity and good yields. Remarkably, this is the first procedure for benzosilinone synthesis which is general and practical.