N. Ravasio et al., BIFUNCTIONAL COPPER-CATALYSTS - A ONE-STEP SYNTHESIS OF BICYCLIC ETHERS STARTING FROM ALPHA,BETA-UNSATURATED KETONES, Tetrahedron letters, 38(40), 1997, pp. 7103-7106
A new, one pot synthesis of bicyclic ethers starting from alpha,beta-u
nsaturated ketones containing an additional isolated olefinic bond is
proposed. It relies on highly chemoselective hydrogenation of the enon
e group to the corresponding alcohol in the presence of supported copp
er catalysts, and on the presence of acidic sites on the catalyst supp
ort activating the double bond as a carbocation. (C) 1997 Elsevier Sci
ence Ltd.