Reactions of monoaryl-substituted methylenecyclobutanes and methylenecyclopropanes with 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt), 1-hydroxy-7-azabenzotriazole (HOAt), and 1-hydroxysuccinimide (HOSu)

A cascade epoxidation and nucleophilic addition process under mild conditions was used to prepare cyclobutylmethanone and cyclopropylmethanone derivatives in moderate to good yields. The synthesis involved reaction of monoaryl-substituted methylenecyclobutanes (MCBs) and methylenecyclopropanes (MCPs) with 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt), 1-hydroxy-7-azabenzotriazole (HOAt), and 1-hydroxysuccinimide (HOSu).