Intermolecular Pauson-Khand-Type Reaction of Vinyl Iodides with Alkynes and a CO Surrogate.

A strategy for the palladium-catalyzed intermolecular synthesis of polysubstituted cyclopentenones is reported. The three-component reaction utilizes vinyl iodides and internal alkynes to form the carbon framework of the cyclopentenone with Cr(CO) serving as an easy to handle, solid CO surrogate, and a hydrosilane as a hydride source. We demonstrate the scope of the reaction which includes a wide range of functional groups.