Enyne-2-pyrone [4 + 4]-Photocycloaddition: Sesquiterpene Synthesis and a Low-Temperature Cope Rearrangement

Intramolecular [4 + 4] photoreaction of 2-pyrones with a 1,3-enyne yields an unstable 1,2,5-cyclooctatriene product. Without a C4 pyrone substituent, 1,3-hydrogen migration converts the allene to a 1,3-diene, with a skeleton related to dactylol. With methoxy substitution, Cope rearrangement yields a nine-membered ring fused to a cyclobutane. Both structures were confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The Cope rearrangement is apparently reversible, reforming the allene which undergoes a proton shift to the more stable 1,3-diene product