A one-pot silyl-Reformatsky olefination

A novel one-pot olefination reaction has been developed, involving the stereoselective formation of (E)-α,β-unsaturated esters/ketones from the reaction of α-bromocarbonyl compounds with aromatic aldehydes. The reactions use a reagent combination of trichlorosilane, and triethylamine and may proceed via the in situ formation of a trichlorosilyl ketene acetal. The general procedure offers key advantages (high conversions, low quantities of organic soluble by-products) over the conventional Wittig reaction.