A comparative study on aldol‐type condensation reactions of cyclic,acyclic and substituted cyclic ketones by the W(CO)6/CCl4/UV system

Aldol‐type condensation reactions of a number of cyclic, acyclic and substituted cyclic ketones were investigated using the W(CO)₆/CCl₄/UV system. The progress of the reactions was followed by IR and GC‐MS techniques. The cyclic ketone derivatives with β‐ and γ‐substituent gave the expected condensation products. However, the α‐substituted cyclic, acyclic and unsubstituted cyclic ketones with rings larger than six did not. Formation of [W]–ketone complexes with all of the ketones used was observed by FTIR. With respect to our studies, a mechanism involving an intermediate seven‐coordinate tungsten complex has been proposed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.