Ni(II)-catalyzed Conia-ene reaction of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds with alkynes.

[reaction: see text]. We have discovered a Ni(II)-catalyzed Conia-ene reaction of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds with alkynes. In the presence of Ni(acac)2 and Yb(OTf)3, various acetylenic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds underwent Conia-ene reaction to give mono- and bicyclic olefinic cyclopentanes. A mechanism involving the enol-yne-Ni complex formation is proposed and supported by deuterium-labeling experiments.