A general and facile synthesis of substituted furans by palladium-catalyzed cycloisomerization of (Z)-2-En-4-yn-1-ols

A general and facile synthesis of furans, based on Pd(II)-catalyzed cycloisomerization of (Z)-2-en-4-yn-1-ols, is described. Cycloisomerization reactions are carried out at 25-100 degrees C in the presence of a very simple catalytic system, consisting of K2PdI4, under essentially neutral conditions. This new methodology is very versatile and can be applied to the synthesis of a variety of substituted furans, including particularly fragile, naturally occurring furans such as rosefuran. Efficient synthetic approaches for the regioselective synthesis of suitably substituted (Z)-2-en-4-yn-1-ols have been developed.