Iron-Catalyzed C–H Alkylative Ring Openings of Oxabicyclic Alkenes

We report the iron-catalyzed C-H alkylative ring openings of oxabicyclic alkenes by chelation assistance. The method converted a broad family of benzamides into highly functionalized dihydronaphthen-2-ol derivatives, amenable to further synthetic transformations by removing the triazole directing group. Remarkably, the iron catalysis displayed complete chemo- and regioselectivities in converting oxabicyclic alkenes functionalized at the bridgehead carbons. Mechanistic investigations, by means of DFT calculations, fully elucidated the mechanism of the iron catalysis.