Chalcogen-Bonding Catalysis Approach to Intermolecular Ring-Opening Carbonyl–Olefin Metathesis

While carbonyl–olefin metathesis has emerged as an important type of reaction, cycloalkenes have shown no or low reactivity toward aldehydes under strong Lewis or Brønsted acid catalysis. Herein, we report that, enabled by chalcogen-bonding catalysis, reactions between five- to seven-membered cycloalkenes and aldehydes proceeded to afford intermolecular ring-opening metathesis products.