Abstract

Protonation of the highly reactive 1:1 intermediates, produced in the reaction between triphenylphosphine and dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylates, by 1-(2-hydroxy-1- naphtyl)-1-ethanone leads to vinyltriphenylphosphonium salts, which undergo a Michael addition reaction with a conjugate base to produce corresponding stabilized phosphorus ylides. Dipotassium hydrogen phosphate powder was found to catalyze the conversion of stabilized phosphorus ylides to dialkyl (   E, Z)-2-(1-acetyl- 2-naphthyl)-2-butenedioates under thermal and microwave conditions in a solventless system