Unified Approach to (Thio)chromenones via One-Pot Friedel-Crafts Acylation/Cyclization: Distinctive Mechanistic Pathways of β-Chlorovinyl Ketones.

A facile synthetic method to chromenones and thiochromenones has been developed using a one-pot Friedel-Crafts acylation of alkynes with suitably substituted benzoyl chlorides. This unified approach to (thio)chromenones is readily applicable to aryl- and alkylalkynes where the stereochemically well-defined β-chlorovinyl ketone intermediates undergo distinctively different cyclization pathways. The ready availability of both starting materials, alkynes and benzoyl chlorides, coupled with the experimental simplicity makes the current synthetic method to (thio)chromenones fast, efficient, and practical.