Oxidative C—C Bond-Forming Reaction of Electron-Rich Alkylbenzyl Ether with Trimethylvinyloxysilane.

Treatment of an electron-rich benzyl ether with DDQ at ambient temperature followed by addition of a silyl enol ether undergoes a C-C bond-forming reaction to afford 3-alkoxy-3-phenyl-propionyl compound. This is a general reaction and works well with a variety of silyl enol ethers to give carbonyl products in yields ranging from 10 to 85%.