A potassium-bis(trimethylsilyl)amide-mediated cyclopropanation of allyl phosphates with silylboronates has been developed. Unlike the reported copper-catalyzed allylic substitution reactions, the nucleophile selectively attacks at the β-position of the allylic substrates under the present reaction conditions. The mechanism of this process has also been investigated, thus indicating the involvement of a silylpotassium species as the active nucleophilic component.
Keywords: reaction mechanisms; rearrangement; silanes; small ring system; synthetic methods.
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