Phosphine-catalyzed enantioselective synthesis of oxygen heterocycles

Abstract

Chiral phosphepine 1 catalyzes the transformation of an array of hydroxy-2-alkynoates into saturated oxygen heterocycles with good enantioselectivity. Phenols are also shown to participate in such phosphine-catalyzed cyclizations, including an asymmetric variant. This method provides a new approach to the enantioselective synthesis of tetrahydrofurans, tetrahydropyrans, and dihydrobenzopyrans.