Phosphine catalyst-controlled cycloaddition or dienylation reactions of trifluoromethyl aryl ketones with bis-substituted allenoates.

A chemoselective phosphine-catalyzed cycloaddition or dienylation reaction between trifluoromethyl-substituted ketones and bis-substituted allenoates was described. Under the catalysis of triarylphosphine, the reaction gave a range of trifluoromethylated tetrahydrofurans with broad substrate tolerance and good to excellent stereoselectivity, while the use of trialkylphosphine switched the reaction pathway to furnish CF3-substituted dienyl tertiary alcohols chemoselectively. Moreover, a preliminary study on the asymmetric version of the reaction was also performed, which represents the first example of a phosphine-catalyzed asymmetric reaction between allenoates and carbonyl compounds.