The formation of a peracetal and trioxane from an enol ether with copper(II) triflate and oxygen: Unexpected oxygenation of aldol intermediates

Simone C. Vonwiller, Jacqueline A. Warner, Simon T. Mann, Richard K. Haynes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The enol ether 7 undergoes rapid conversion into a 2:3 mixture of cis aldol 9 and trans aldol 11 in the presence of copper(II) triflate (0.1 equiv) and water (1 equiv) in MeCN with no intermediate formation of the corresponding ketoaldehyde 12. In the presence of oxygen, slow oxygenation of the aldols takes place to give the peracetal 13 and bioxane 14 (93:7, 47% combined yield), and the methoxyaldehyde 8 in 12% yield. It is proposed that retroaldolisation to an enol or Cu(II) enolate which is oxidised to an enol radical is the key step. Oxygenation of trans aldol 11 with Cu(II)/O2 in the presence of MeOH gave the peracetal (37%), trioxane (2%), and the methoxyaldehydes 8 (4%) and 10 (4%). The cis aldol 9 reacted, by comparison, very slowly under the same conditions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2363-2366
Number of pages4
JournalTetrahedron Letters
Volume38
Issue number13
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 31 Mar 1997

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