Intermolecular oxonium ylide mediated synthesis of medium-sized oxacycles

Detailed in this account are our efforts toward efficient oxacycle syntheses. Two complementary approaches are discussed, with both employing chemoselective allyl ether activation and rearrangement as the key step. Vinyl substituted oxiranes and oxetanes provide a single step access to dihydropyrans and tetrahydrooxepines. Oxiranes proved to be poor substrates, while oxetanes were slightly better. An alternative approach using substituted allyl ethers proved successful and addressed the limitations encountered in the ring expansions.