Palladium-Catalyzed Multicomponent Cascade Reaction of 3-Hydroxypropionitrile: Synthesis of Substituted Dihydrochalcones

Direct access to substituted dihydrochalcones from the easily available starting materials 3-hydroxypropionitrile derivatives and arylboronic acids is described. The procedure involves a multicomponent aryl addition/hydroxyl elimination/reduction Heck approach in the presence of a Pd catalyst with excellent functional group tolerance and a wide range of substrates. In addition, mixed 1,3-diarylation of 3-hydroxypropanenitrile using two arylboronic acids with different electronic properties was also achieved.