A simple route to chroman-4-ones from y-bromopropynyl aryl ethers (1) using mercury(I1) trifluoroacetate as a catalyst is described. ... Benzopyran compounds are widespread in a variety of forms and have interesting properties,' eg psychotropic constitu- ents (tetrahydrocannabinol), and insecticidal: agerato- chromene (Precocene) , phytoalexins (pterocarpans), etc. The synthesis of chroman-4-ones,2 the synthetic intermediate for this class of compounds, has therefore ...
