Gold‐Catalyzed [2+2+1] Cycloaddition of 1,6‐Diyne Carbonates and Esters with Aldehydes to 4‐(Cyclohexa‐1,3‐dienyl)‐1,3‐dioxolanes

A synthetic method to stereoselectively prepare 4‐(cyclohexa‐1,3‐dienyl)‐1,3‐dioxolanes in good to excellent yields by gold(I)‐catalyzed 2+2+1] cycloaddition of 1,6‐diyne carbonates and esters with aldehydes is described. The cascade process involves 1,2‐acyloxy migration followed by cyclopropenation and cycloreversion. This leads to an unprecedented 2+2+1] cycloaddition of the resulting alkenylgold carbenoid species, examples of which are extremely rare, with two aldehyde molecules at catalyst loadings as low as 1 mol %. The usefulness of this cycloisomerization chemistry was further demonstrated by the transformation of one example to the corresponding phenol.