two-step intermolecular esterification via the condensation of carboxylic acids with nucleophilic hydroxyl species was reported. A broad substrate scope with respect to carboxylic acids, alcohols, and phenols was observed. The α-acyloxyenamide intermediates formed by the addition of carboxylic acids to ynamides proved to be effective acylating reagents for the esterification of alcohol and phenol derivatives
are the result of the well-known thermal Diels-Alder-type dimerization of 3 without rearrangement (cf. Scheme 7). At low concentration of 3 in decalin, the decrease of 3 follows up to ca. 20% conversion first-order kinetics (cf. Table 5), which is in agreement with a monomolecular rearrangement of 3. Moreover, heating the highly reactive 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl 3-(4-nitrophenyl)prop-2-ynonate (3f) in