Electrophilic attack 7/4-trimethylenemethane complexes

The presence of five-membered rings such as cyclopentanes, cyclopentenes, and dihydrofurans in a wide range of target molecules has led to a variety of methods for their preparation. One of the most successful of these is the use of trimethylenemethane [3 + 2] cycloaddition, catalysed by pal-ladium(O) complexes. The trimethylenemethane unit in these reactions is derived from 2-[ (trimethylsilyl)methyl]-2-propen- 1-yl acetate which is at the same time an allyl silane and an allylic acetate. This makes it a weak nucleophile and an electrophile in the presence of palladium(0). Formation of the palladium 7t-allyl complex is followed by removal of the trimethylsilyl group by nucleophilic attack of the resulting acetate ion, thus producing a zwitterionic palladium complex that can undergo cycloaddition reactions. 

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