Reaction of 2-Formyl Imidazole with Intermediates From the Baylis-Hillman Reaction

Abstract

The reaction of formyl imidazole (in the presence and absence of DABCO, and with either THF or methanol as solvent) with α-hydroxylaryl derivatives of methyl acrylate affords novel synthetic intermediates. By controlling the reaction conditions, either allylic substitution products (THF, DABCO) or rearrangement (MeOH, no DABCO) products result.