Polyolefin cyclization triggered by electrochemically generated alkoxycarbenium ions: batch and flow conditions

In this work, we have used electrochemically generated carbocations as intermolecular initiators in polyolefin cascade cyclizations. The cation pool method was employed to evaluate the feasibility of this transformation, and the conditions were further transferred and optimized for low-temperature flash generation of cationic species under flow conditions, followed by rapid in-flow cascade cyclization. The flow setup proved capable of enabling cyclization of several aryl dienes to form various polycyclic products.