The2-C,methylenegroupof1-aroyl-1,2-dihydro-3H-naphtho[2,1-b]pyran-3-ones(2)havebeenshowedtopossessasuperiorreactivitytowardsmanyoforganicreagents.Thena-phthopyrones(2)condensedwitharomaticaldehydestogivethe2-arylidinederivatives(3).Bromin-ationof2gave1,2-dibromo(4)or5-bromo(5)derivativesdependingonthereactionconditions.Thebasecatalyzedadditionorcycloadditionofnaphthopyrones(2)to4-methoxybenzalacetophenonegavetheexpectedMichaeladduct(6)orthecyclicadducts(7-9)dependingonthetypeofcatalyticbaseandreactionconditions.Structuresoftheproductshavebeenestablishedbyelementalanalyses,IRand~1HNMRspectroscopicmethods.
