Regioselective Construction of Functionalized Biarylols by Fe(OTf)3-Catalyzed Direct Arylation of 1-Diazonaphthalen-2(1H)-ones and Their Fluorescence Properties

A facile and efficient protocol for the construction of functionalized biarylols by Fe(OTf)(3)-catalyzed direct arylation of 1-diazonaphthalen-2(1H)-ones with arenes has been developed. This methodology provides diverse 1-arylnaphthalen-2-ols in moderate to good yields. This approach has also been applied to the synthesis of biologically interesting polycyclic-aromatic-substituted and heteroaryl-substituted naphthalen-2-ols. The synthesized compounds bearing an anthracene scaffold can be useful as potential fluorescent biomarkers for confocal imaging of clone cells.