N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Catalyzed Synthesis of Dihydroxybenzophenones from β‐Methylenals and Aurones

Abstract N‐heterocyclic carbene catalyzed synthesis of 2,2′‐dihydroxybenzophenones from β‐methylenals and aurones was developed. The cleavage of the C−O bond by a retro‐Michael addition is the key step from the spirocyclic intermediate to final product.