A simple synthesis of 4E,7Z-tridecadien-1-yl acetate, a component of the sex pheromone of the potato mothPhtorimaea operculella (Lepidoptera:Gelehiidae)

Abstract

A simple, five-step synthesis of the title compound was developed starting from commercially available 2,4-nonadienal. The overall yield of the pheromone is 29%, and the geometric purity of the Δ4 and Δ7 double bonds is ≥95%. TheZ configuration of the Δ7 bond results from the 1,4-cis-hydrogenation of the intermediate 1,4,6-undecatrien-3-ol in the presence of an (arene)chromium tricarbonyl complex, while theE configuration of the Δ4 bond arises in the Claisen-Johnson rearrangement occuring in the reaction of 1,5Z-undecadien-3-ol with trimethyl orthoacetate.