Synthesis of Tribenzo[b,d,f]azepines via Cascade π-Extended Decarboxylative Annulation Involving Cyclic Diaryliodonium Salts

Various functionalized tribenzo[b,d,f]azepines were prepared efficiently with the readily available 2-aminobenzoic acids and cyclic hypervalent diaryliodonium reagents as starting materials under Pd(II) catalysis. The key of this step-economical protocol is that the carboxylic acid functionality was employed as both a traceless directing group for the N-H activation/arylation and a functional handle for the tandem pi-extended decarboxylative annulation.