Rhodium-Catalyzed Regioselective Formal Hydroacylation of Vinyl Epoxides toward Esters Involving ß-Carbon Cleavage.

Herein we disclose the first example of the formal hydroacylation reactions of vinyl epoxides with chelating aldehydes enabled by rhodium catalysis for the efficient construction of functionalized esters. Detailed investigations of the mechanistic pathway reveal that the presence of a 2-vinyl group is essential in contributing to the success of this regioselective reaction, which might proceed through ß-carbon cleavage as the key procedure.