Search

The discovery of new reaction modes mediated by easily available substrates is an important research topic in organic synthesis. Allyl ketones and related compounds have been demonstrated to undergo γ- or α-selective additions to different electrophiles. We disclose here the Brønsted base-catalyzed reaction of allyl ketones and alkynyl 1,2-diketones, which undergo a unique α-selective addition/intramolecular aldol-type annulation/C–C bond cleavage process, and a series of 2-acyloxycyclopent-3-enones can be obtained under very mild conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The umpolung of alkynyl 1,2-diketones via N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalysis was achieved for the first time, allowing the rapid access to a large variety of synthetically and pharmaceutically important α-pyrones under very mild conditions. A completely new NHC-catalyzed umpolung pattern involving an O-acylated allenolate as the key intermediate was proposed. Moreover, an unprecedented reaction pathway, featured by a series of group migrations and new bond formation, was postulated to demonstrate the formation of the products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]