Iron-Catalyzed pi-Activated C-O Ether Bond Cleavage with C-C and C-H Bond Formation

A novel and efficient allylic alkylation reaction between -activated ethers and allylsilane was realized under mild conditions through iron(III)-catalyzed Csp3-O ether bond cleavage. The present protocol provides an attractive approach for the construction of sp(3)-sp(3) C-C bonds and can be potentially applied for the selective reduction of benzyl and allyl ethers to their corresponding hydrocarbon compounds by using triethylsilane as a hydride-transfer reagent.