Copper‐Catalyzed Formation of α‐Alkoxycycloalkenones from N‐Tosylhydrazones

Abstract The combination of 20 mol % of copper iodide and lithium tert ‐butoxide triggers the formation of a broad range of substituted, functionalized α‐alkoxy 2 H ‐naphthalenones from readily available N ‐tosylhydrazones. The data suggests that this transformation occurs through cycloaddition of a copper carbenoid with an ester, followed by a Lewis acid‐catalyzed [1,2] alkyl shift of the in situ generated alkoxyepoxide intermediate.