Applications of Cursed Chemistry in the Total Synthesis of Impracticatechol

Abstract: Burnie Urethra’s group have set themselves a Herculean task: the total synthesis of Impracticatechol (1). The highly complicated structure features a dozen stereocenters and a raft of functional groups including a pentavalent carbon. This malevolent moiety constitutes a significant challenge to the synthetic chemist, as until now, no methodology has been reported pertaining to their preparation. Herein, we describe an easy and promiscuous protocol for generating pentavalent carbon centers via a one-pot curse-transfer cyclisation reaction, inspired by r/cursed_chemistry.