A silver-catalyzed spirocyclization of alkynyl silyl enol ethers.

Ring out the old: The cycloisomerization of alkynyl silyl enol ethers proceeds at ambient temperature under the mild conditions of silver catalysis. Mono- or bicyclic spiro compounds can be obtained by 5-exo-dig reactions. Trapping the vinyl silver species with an iodide source, such as N-iodosuccinimide (NIS), afforded the alkenyl iodide derivatives.