In memory of Prof. Xuan Tian
The facile access to the tetracyclic skeleton of podophyllotoxin, a medicinally important lignan natural product, was efficiently achieved via a unique intramolecular alkylarylation of the tethered alkene in a dihalide under mild conditions using reductive nickel catalysis.
Key words
nickel - reductive coupling - intramolecular - cyclization - synthesis