The selective Heck reaction of cyclopent-2-en-1-one or cyclohex-2-en-1-one with aryl bromides gives a simple access to the corresponding 3-arylcycloalk-2-en-1-ones. The choice of the base was found to be crucial to avoid the formation of 3-arylcyclopentanones or 3-arylcyclohexanones as side-products. Using KF as base, DMF as solvent and Pd (OAc) 2 as catalyst, the target products were obtained in moderate to good yields with a variety ...
