In the context of non-coupling routes to biaryls we were attracted to the work of Leditschke who reported in 1952 that 2-benzoylfuran (1, Het = Ph; R = H) reacted with ammonia to give 2-phenyl-3-hydroxypyridine. The proposed mechanism involves initial attack of ammonia at C-5 of the furan, leading to a ring opening–ring closure sequence, and the furan oxygen becomes the hydroxy group in the product. 9 Gruber extended this route to substituted phenyl ...
