Access to Ketones through Palladium‐Catalyzed Cross‐Coupling of Phenol Derivatives with Nitroalkanes Followed by Nef Reaction.

A practical protocol for the synthesis of ketones by Pd‐catalyzed cross‐coupling of phenol derivatives with nitroalkanes followed by a Nef‐type reaction has been developed. The readily available nitroalkanes served as alkyl nucleophiles under basic conditions to couple with easy‐to‐handle phenol derivatives derived from naturally abundant phenols. The avoidance of using organometallics and organic halides makes this protocol more sustainable. The reaction was compatible with various functional groups, including nitro, cyano, acetyl, aldehyde, halide, and ester groups. Furthermore, the successful application of our method in drug synthesis exemplified its synthetic potential in pharmaceutical sciences. Preliminary mechanistic investigations strongly suggested the possible involvement of α‐aryl‐substituted nitroalkane intermediates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]