| Abstract: | A facile method to oxidatively trimerize phenols using a catalytic aerobic copper system is described. The mechanism of this transformation was probed, yielding insight that enabled cross‐coupling trimerizations. With this method, the natural product pyrolaside B was synthesized for the first time. The key strategy used for this novel synthesis is the facile one‐step construction of a spiroketal trimer intermediate, which can be selectively reduced to give the natural product framework without recourse to stepwise Ullmann‐ and Suzuki‐type couplings. As a result, pyrolaside B can be obtained expeditiously in five steps and 16 % overall yield. Three other analogues were synthesized, thus highlighting the utility of the method, which provides new accessibility to this area of chemical space. A novel xanthene was also synthesized through controlled Lewis acid promoted rearrangement of a spiroketal trimer. |
