Vinylethylene Carbonates as <i>α,β</i>-Unsaturated Aldehyde Surrogates for Regioselective [3 + 3] Cycloaddition

Herein, we report a novel stepwise addition-controlled ring size method, to access tetrahydropyrimidines through an operationally simple [3 + 3] cycloaddition of vinylethylene carbonates with triazinanes. Interestingly, we could also use this method for a [3 + 3] oxidative cycloaddition, which allows the facile synthesis of polysubstituted terphenyls under mild conditions. Mechanistic studies suggest that vinylethylene carbonates could generate α,β-unsaturated aldehydes as 3-carbon synthons for cycloaddition via a combination process of Pd-catalyzed decarboxylation and β-H elimination.