Se-phenyl prop-2-eneselenoate: an ethylene equivalent for Diels-Alder reactions.

others. [7] In an approach to the total synthesis of brasilicardin A, 1, [8] we needed an ethylene equivalent for the preparation of the C ring. Since many of the known ethylene equivalents did not work well for various reasons, we decided to develop a new ethylene equivalent for Diels–Alder cycloadditions, Se-phenyl prop-2-eneselenoate (phenyl selenoacrylate). Herein we report the successful accomplishment of that goal.