A new
coupling reaction between 2-vinylphenols and carboxylic acids was
developed to synthesize 3-acyloxy-2,3-dihydrobenzofurans using Bu<sub>4</sub>NI as a catalyst and <i>t</i>-BuOOH as an oxidant.
This simple and practical methodology is notable due to the ability
to complete it under metal-free conditions, with easily available
precursors, resulting in a product with high atom economy and high
functional group tolerance. Upon the basis of experimental observations
and literature, a plausible mechanism is proposed
