A Facile Approach to the Synthesis of Chiral 2-Substituted Benzofurans

An effective route to chiral optically active 2-substituted benzofurans directly from carboxylic acids is reported. This procedure, which allows the preparation of α-alkyl-2-benzofuranmethanamines from N-protected α-amino acids without sensible racemization phenomena, proceeds in good yields under mild conditions with the help of microwave irradiation.