One-Pot O-Oxidation and the Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons Reaction of Primary Alcohols for the Synthesis of ()-α,β-Unsaturated Esters.

We developed one-pot oxidation/olefination procedures of primary alcohols giving -α,β-unsaturated esters . TEMPO-(CuCl or CuBr)-(2,2'-bipyridine) (1:1:1) catalyzed O oxidation of primary alcohols in the presence of -selective Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reagent and KPO or NaH gave with / = 84:16 to 96:4 in high yields. A stepwise reaction was also developed.