Palladium-Catalyzed Decarbonylative Annulation of 2-Arylbenzoic Acids with Internal Alkynes toward Phenanthrenes

A palladium-catalyzed decarbonylative annulation of 2-arylbenzoic acids with internal alkynes via C(sp2)–H activation has been developed. A series of phenanthrenes were produced in moderate to good yield with good functional group tolerance. The mechanism study indicated that the C(sp2)–H activation should be the rate-determining step during the reaction.