Palladium(II)-Catalyzed Annulation of Alkynes with 2-(Cyanomethyl)phenylboronates Leading to 3,4-Disubstituted 2-Naphthalenamines

1,2-Bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane (dppe)-ligated palladium(II) complexes catalyze the annulation of internal alkynes with 2-(cyanomethyl)phenylboronates to provide 3,4-disubstituted-2-naphthalenamines in good yields. The annulation reaction proceeds under mild and neutral conditions and requires methanol as an essential solvent. In addition to symmetrical alkynes, unsymmetrical alkynes substituted by aryl, alkyl, and alkynyl groups participate in the annulation to afford the corresponding 2-naphthalenamines with electron-withdrawing sp²- and sp-carbons preferentially located at the C-3 position. Substituents including an alkyl or alkoxy group on the cyanomethyl moiety and a halogen atom on the benzene ring in the boronates are compatible with the reaction conditions. The annulation proceeds through the transmetalation of the palladium(II) complexes with the boronates and alkyne insertion followed by nucleophilic addition of the generated alkenylpalladium(II) species to the intramolecular cyano group. Stoichiometric reactions revealed that the methanol solvent was effective for both transmetalation and catalyst regeneration.