Nucleophilic Catalysis in the Enantioselective Synthesis of α-Methylidene-δ-lactones

Abstract

A new method for the preparation of optically active ­α-methyl­idene-δ-lactones is presented. The developed strategy utilizes an intramolecular Rauhut–Currier reaction for a facile construction of the α-methylidene-δ-lactone framework. The reaction is catalyzed by a chiral phosphine and employs the principles of nucleophilic catalysis. It benefits from operational simplicity and uses readily available starting materials.