The addition reaction of 1, 8-bis (trimethylsilyl)-2, 6-octadiene with open-chain conjugated enones in the presence of titanium tetrachloride affords 4, 7-divinyldecane-1, 10-diones with very high diastereoselectivity. In the case of benzalacetone (trans-4-phenyl-3-buten-2-one), the structure of the adduct (74% yield) was established as the meso isomer (4 S*, 5 R*, 8 S*, 9 R*)-4, 9-diphenyl-5, 8-divinyldodecane-2, 11-dione by a single-crystal X-ray analysis.
