A diverse range of benzotriazoles were synthesized from various 3-(azidoalkoxy)aryne precursors, which were easily prepared by Mitsunobu etherification. Various bis-1,2,3-triazoles containing a benzotriazole skeleton were obtained via sequential azidealkyne and azidearyne cycloadditions. Intramolecular azidoaryne cycloaddition, conducted using the same starting materials, afforded new types of ring-fused benzotriazoles. In the latter case, the reaction proceeded efficiently even though the regioorientation of the azido group was the reverse of that usually observed in intermolecular reactions between 3-alkoxyarynes and an azide.Benzotriazole is a heterocyclic compound that often forms part of the core skeleton of bioactive compounds, including clinical drugs and drug candidates.1 To address the increasing demand for chemical libraries that facilitate efficient drug discovery, we have constructed a chemical library comprising benzotriazoles bearing various pharmacophores.2 Since benzotriazoles are easily prepared by cycloaddition reactions between arynes and azides, 3 arynes bearing a latently transformable group serve as useful intermediates for preparing a diverse range of benzotriazoles. 2,4,5 In this context, we recently reported a modular synthetic method for the preparation of diverse bis-and tris-1,2,3-triazoles, including the benzotriazole skeleton.2b This approach was based on the use of aryne precursors pro-A bearing a clickable terminal alkyne moiety ( Figure 1A). Various bis-1,2,3-triazoles B were prepared from pro-A via sequential azidearyne and azidealkyne cycloadditions. Herein, we show that the azido-functionalized 3-alkoxyaryne precursors pro-C also serve as useful common platform molecules for the synthesis of diverse benzotriazoles such as bistriazoles D and new types of ring-fused benzotriazoles E, which were obtained via sequential intermolecular cycloadditions and an intramolecular cycloaddition, respectively ( Figure 1B).Various 3-(azidoalkoxy)aryne precursors, the starting materials used in this study, were easily prepared in a convergent manner using the Mitsunobu reaction 6 (Scheme 1). Commercially available resorcinols 1 were easily converted to 2-iodo-3-triflyloxyphenols 2 according to Suzuki's three-step protocol.7,8 Dehydrative etherification of 2 with separately prepared azido-substituted alcohols 3 proceeded efficiently upon treatment with triphenylphosphine and diethyl azodicarboxylate to afford the corresponding aryne precursors 4a4g without damaging the azido group stemmed from iminophosphorane formation.
8The modular synthesis of benzotriazole-containing bis-1,2,3-triazoles was accomplished via sequential cycloadditions to the aryne precursors 4: a copper(I)-catalyzed azidealkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC), 9 followed by silylmethyl Grignard-triggered 2b,2c,5v regioselective azidearyne cycloaddition (Figure 2). This method enabled the facile synthesis of bistriazoles such as 8a8c bearing various functional groups, including silyl, ester, bromo, and pyridyl moieties, in moderate to h...