1,6-Enynes bearing OR groups at the propargyl position generate α,β-unsaturated gold(I)-carbenes/ gold(I) stabilized allyl cations that can be trapped by alkenes to form cyclopropanes or 1,3-diketones to give products of α-alkylation. The best migrating group is p-nitrophenyl ether, which leads to the corresponding products without racemization. Thus, an improved formal synthesis of (+)-schisanwilsonene A has been accomplished. The different competitive reaction pathways have been delineated computationally.
Keywords: cycloisomerization; cyclopropanation; density functional calculations; gold; rearrangement.
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