Treatment of 5-bromopenta-1,3-diene with indium metal in the
presence of α,β-unsaturated ketones results in
initial γ-pentadienylation to generate the hydroxy-1,4-diene.
In the case of aromatic conjugated ketones or cyclohexenones the
indium alkoxide undergoes spontaneous oxy-Cope rearrangement to
afford the 1,4-addition product. The second double bond is required
for this [3,3] sigmatropic rearrangement as allyl
groups fail to under go this in situ rearrangement. This behavior
is consistent with an indium(I) pentadiene species and appears to
be the first example of an indium-mediated oxy-Cope rearrangement.
indium - oxy-Cope - [3,3] sigmatropic
rearrangement - γ-pentadienyl - conjugate
addition