ORGANIC-SYNTHESIS WITH ALPHA-SILYLCARBONYL COMPOUNDS

Our interest in organosilicon compounds has led us to examine the chem istry of rarely used alpha-silylcarbonyl compounds. Possible applicati ons of these synthons are not covered totally here, but a few examples along these lines should demonstrate the utility of these structurall y simple substrates in organic synthesis. The preparation of the alpha -silyl esters and some examples of their stereocontrolled conversion i nto polysubstituted tetrahydrofurans is presented.