Facile isomerization of silyl enol ethers catalyzed by triflic imide and its application to one-pot isomerization-(2 + 2) cycloaddition

Abstract

A triflic imide (Tf 2NH) catalyzed isomerization of kinetically favourable silyl enol ethers into thermodynamically stable ones was developed. We also demonstrated a one-pot catalytic reaction consisting of (2 + 2) cycloaddition and isomerization. In the reaction sequence, Tf 2NH catalyzes both of the reactions. © 2012 Inanaga et al; licensee Beilstein-Institut.