Abstract:
A novel route to simple 6,5-benzannulated spiroketal analogues has been developed. A convergent Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons olefination enabled ready assembly of the spiroketal precursors. Use of a benzyl protecting group strategy enabled an efficient one-pot hydrogenation/deprotection/spiroketalisation process to be employed providing a robust method to access a range of substituted aromatic monobenzannulated spiroketals.