A copper-catalyzed [4 + 1] annulation between α-hydroxy ketones and nitriles has been developed. The reaction provides a facile and efficient method for the construction of a wide range of highlysubstituted 3(2H)-furanones, a class of important compounds known to be associated with several biological activities.
A carbon dioxide-promoted and silver acetate-catalyzed hydration of propargylicalcohols for the efficient synthesis of tertiary α-hydroxy ketones has been developed. The reaction is proposed to proceed via a tandem process of carbon dioxide incorporation into propargylicalcohols and subsequent hydrolysis.