β-Phenylsulfonylenones as α,β-acetylenic ketones equivalents in Diels-Alder reactions

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0040-4039(00)92398-0

(E)-β-phenylsulfonylenones, readily prepared by oxidation of the alcohols, react with a wide variety of dienes in the presence of activated silica gel. The basic elimination of the phenylsulfonyl group in the resulting adducts gives high yields of the corresponding enones, thus showing the usefulness of these dienophiles as reactive synthetic equivalents of α,β-acetylenic ketones.