The approach to 3-(furan-2-yl)-1,3-di(het)arylprop-2-en-1-ones based on the oxidative dearomatization of 3-(furan-2-yl)-1,3-di(het)arylpropan-1-ones followed by an unusual cyclization of the formed di(het)aryl-substituted 2-ene-1,4,7-triones has been developed. The cyclization step is related to the Paal–Knorr synthesis, but the furan ring formation is accompanied in this case by a formal shift of the double bond through the formation of a fully conjugated 4,7-hydroxy-2,4,6-trien-1-one system or its surrogate.

We describe the synthesis of functionalized furans using the concept of the extended Corey–Chaykovsky reaction. Namely, β,β-disubstituted α,β-unsaturated ketones were treated with dimethylsulfonium methylide to give vinyloxiranes, which immediately rearranged into the corresponding furans. The developed approach allows for synthesizing a broad range of unsymmetrically di- and trisubstituted furans containing various functionalities in the core.