Oxidative cyclization based on reversing the polarity of enol ethers and ketene dithioacetals. Construction of a tetrahydrofuran ring and application to the synthesis of (+)-nemorensic Acid.

The utility of oxidative cyclization reactions for the construction of tetrahydrofuran rings has been examined. In these experiments, alcohol nucleophiles were found to be effective traps for radical cation intermediates generated from both enol ether and ketene dithioacetal groups. The reactivity of the alcohol trapping group appeared to lie between that of an enol ether and an allylsilane trapping group.