Reactivity of Seven-Membered-Ring trans-Alkenes with Electrophiles

Abstract

Seven-membered-ring trans-alkenes containing a silicon–oxygen bond reacted rapidly with oxygen gas and electron-deficient alkenes and alkynes to give products with high selectivity. Addition of an electron-donating substituent or incorporating additional strain increased the reactivity by over two orders of magnitude. These results indicate that release of strain is not the only driving force for reactivity.