A facile route to diastereomeric phosphorus ylides. Chemoselective synthesis of dialkyl (E)-2-[1-(2-oxocyclopentylidene)ethyl]-2-butenedioates.

2-Acetylcyclopentanone undergoes a smooth reaction with triphenylphosphine and dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylates to produce dialkyl 2-(1-acetyl-2-oxocyclopentyl)-3-(1,1,1-triphenyl-lambda(5)-phosphanylidene)succinates. These compounds undergo intramolecular Wittig reactions in boiling benzene to produce highly strained spirocyclobutene derivatives, which spontaneously undergo ring-opening reactions to produce dialkyl (E)-2-[1-(2-oxocyclopentyliden)ethyl]-2-butenedioates.