1,3-Allyl and 1,2-allyl shifts through [3,3]- and [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangements are well-established and widely used in organic synthesis. In contrast, 1,5-allyl shift through related [3,5]-sigmatropic rearrangement is unknown because [3,5]-sigmatropic rearrangement is thermally Woodward-Hoffmann forbidden. Herein, we report an unexpected discovery of a formal 1,5-allyl shift of allyl furfuryl alcohol through a 2-step sequential rearrangement. Mechanistically, this formal 1,5-allyl shift is achieved through a sequential ring expansion/contraction rearrangement: 1) Achmatowicz rearrangement (ring expansion), and 2) cascade oxonia-Cope rearrangement/retro-Achmatowicz rearrangement (ring contraction). This new 1,5-allyl shift method is demonstrated with >20 examples and expected to find applications in organic synthesis and materials chemistry.
Keywords: Cyclizations; Heterocycles; Reaction Mechanisms; Rearrangements; Synthetic Methods.
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