Copper-catalyzed acylations of o-vinylbenzylzirconocene intermediate and synthetic application toward steroid skeleton

Benzylzirconocene intermediate, which was readily prepared by a reaction of o-alkoxymethylstyrene with 'CP2Zr' under mild conditions, reacted with acyl chlorides in the presence of a catalytic amount of CuBr-SMe2 to give ketone derivatives in moderate to good yields. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.