A Cascade Dehydrogenative Cross-Coupling/Annulation Reaction of Benzamides with β‑Keto Esters for the Synthesis of Isoquinolinone Derivatives

A novel cascade DCC/annulation reaction of N-alkoxybenzamides with β-keto esters has been developed for the synthesis of isoquinolinone derivatives under palladium catalysis. A plausible mechanism involving α-C­(sp²)–H activation and a Pd­(II)/Pd­(IV) catalytic cycle is also proposed.