Synthesis of functionalised cyclopentanes by intramolecular radical-mediated cyclisations of terminal allenic ketones

Electrolysis of a series of terminal allenic ketones e.g. (7), (10), (17) and (21) is shown to result in intramolecular reductive cyclisation, through the $\text{exo}$-mode, producing five-membered rings, $\text{viz}$ (8), (9), (20) and (22) respectively, incorporating a bridgehead hydroxyl group. The unsaturated alcohols (8), (20) and (22), are also obtained when the allenic ketones (7), (17) and (21) are treated with sodium naphthalenide. By contrast treatment of (10) in the sodium naphthalenide gives a low yield ($\text{ca}$ 7%) of the isomeric indenol (11) by cyclisation through the $\text{endo}$-mode.Reductive cyclisations of the terminal acetylenic ketones (14) and (30) produce the corresponding unsaturated alcohols (26) and (31) respectively. Treatment of the alcohols (26) and (31) with catalytic selenium dioxide then provides the enediols (27) and (32) respectively, which make up the B/C ring systems of the novel marine natural products capnellenediol (1) and isoamijiol (2).