A successful enone version of an intramolecular aza-[3 + 3] annulation reaction is described here. Use of piperidinium trifluoroacetate salt as the catalyst and toluene as the solvent appears to be critical for a successful annulation. We also demonstrated for the first time that microwave irradiation can accelerate aza-[3 + 3] annulation reactions. An attempt to expand the scope of the enone aza-[3 + 3] annulation was made in the form of propyleine synthesis as a proof of concept. While synthesis of the enone annulation precursor was successfully accomplished, the annulation proved to be challenging and was only modestly successful.
Keywords: N-heterocycles; alkaloids synthesis; catalysis; enones; intramolecular aza-[3 + 3] annulation; natural product; vinylogous amides.