Chemistry Letters, Vol.32, No.1, 24-25, 2003
Ruthenium complex-catalyzed oxidative cyclization of 4-penten-1-ols
Treatment of 2-phenyl-5-hexen-2-ol (1a) with Ru-3(CO)(12) catalyst and PPh3 ligand in the presence of allyl acetate and K2CO3 in toluene at 160degreesC for 20 h under 5 atm of carbon monoxide gave the corresponding oxidative cyclization product, 2,5-dimethyl-2-phenyl-2,3-dihydrofuran (2a), in quantitative yield (>99%).