Highly Chemoselective Rauhut–Currier Reaction between Maleimides and Enones and Dual Phosphine-Mediated One-Pot Synthesis of Bicyclic and Polycyclic Skeletons

A highly
chemoselective phosphine-catalyzed Rauhut–Currier reaction
between maleimides and enones has been realized under very mild conditions,
affording the corresponding cross-coupling products in moderate to
excellent yields. On the basis of this reaction, an efficient dual
phosphine-mediated one-pot synthesis of bicyclic and polycyclic compounds
containing a cyclopenta­[c]­pyrrole skeleton has been
accordingly developed, which features a tandem sequence of intermolecular
Rauhut–Currier reaction and intramolecular Wittig reaction.