N-Heterocyclic Carbene Catalyzed Ring Expansion of Formylcyclopropanes: Synthesis of 3,4-Dihydro-α-pyrone Derivatives

N-Heterocyclic carbene catalyzed ring expansion of readily accessible 2-acyl-l-formylcyclopropanes was developed. With 5 mol % of triazoliurn salt 5 and 30 mol % of DBU, ring expansion of various 2-acyl-l-formylcyclopropanes led to 3,4-dihydro-alpha-pyrones in good to excellent yields.