Chromium(III)-Catalyzed Addition of Water and Alcohol to α,β-Unsaturated Ketones for the Synthesis of β-Hydroxyl and β-Alkoxyl Ketones in Aqueous Media
An efficient chromium(III) chloride-catalyzed Michael-type reaction of water or alcohol with α,β-unsaturatedketones is developed. A variety of α,β-unsaturatedketones effectively reacted with either water or alcohols to give the corresponding β-hydroxyl ketones or β-alkoxyl ketones in modest to high yields with excellent compatibility to various functional groups. The approach was further utilized