Lewis acid-promoted deoxygenative di[beta,beta-bis(ethylthio)]vinylation of aldehydes with trimethylsilylketene bis(ethylthio)acetal

Silylketene dithioacetal 1 reacted with aldehydes 2a-o, 14, or cinnamaldehyde (11) in the presence of Lewis acid to give deoxygenative divinylation products, 3-substituted 1,4-pentadienes 3a-o, 15, or 5-phenyl-1,3,6-heptatriene 13b, in good to moderate yields. Similar reaction with 2-aminobenzaldehyde (16) or salicylaldehyde (17) produced quinoline 19 or chroman 20 in 40-58% yield. Treatment of 1 with alpha-diketones 22a-c or alpha-ketoester 24 led to tetrasubstituted furans 23a-c or allylic alcohol 25, respectively, in rather low yields. The formation mechanisms of these products are discussed.