Cu(I)- and Cu(II)-catalyzed cyclo- and Michael addition reactions of unsaturated β-ketoesters.

The α-alkylidene β-ketoesters 2-carbethoxycyclopentenone (1a) and ethyl 2-benzoylacrylate (1b) react with 1,2-dimethylbutadiene (2) (Diels-Alder), N-benzyl-N-(cyclohexylethynyl)-4-methylbenzenesulfonamide (3) (Ficini reaction), ethynyl(phenyl)sulfane (4) ([2 + 2] cycloaddition), and 1,2,5-trimethyl-1H-pyrrole (5) (Michael addition) in the presence of copper(I) (6) or copper(II) triflate (7) (1-2 mol %) in dichloromethane. This convenient protocol converts 1a and 1b to the corresponding cycloaddition (8-10) or Michael addition (11) products in good yields after reaction times of 0.5-3 h without requiring purified solvents or inert gas atmosphere.