α-Oxocarboxylic Acids as Three-Carbon Insertion Units for Palladium-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Cascade Synthesis of Diverse Fused Heteropolycycles

A novel palladium-catalyzed decarboxylative cascade cyclization for the assembly of diverse fused heteropolycycles by employing alpha-oxocarboxylic acids as three-carbon insertion units is reported. This protocol enables the synthesis of isoquinolinedione- and indolo[2,1-a]isoquinolinone-fused benzocycloheptanones in moderate to good yields by the use of different aryl iodides, including alkene-tethered 2-iodobenzamides and 2-(2-iodophenyl)-1H-indoles. Notably, the approach achieves simultaneous construction of both six- and seven-membered rings via sequential intramolecular carbopalladation, C-H activation, and decarboxylation.