Facile isomerization of silyl enol ethers catalyzed by triflic imide and its application to one-pot isomerization–(2 + 2) cycloaddition

Abstract

A triflic imide (Tf(2)NH) catalyzed isomerization of kinetically favourable silyl enol ethers into thermodynamically stable ones was developed. We also demonstrated a one-pot catalytic reaction consisting of (2 + 2) cycloaddition and isomerization. In the reaction sequence, Tf(2)NH catalyzes both of the reactions.