A one-pot procedure for methylenating carbonyl compounds using the Nysted reagent and titanocene dichloride

The combination of the Nysted reagent and titanocene dichloride methylenates aldehydes and ketones to give alkenes, and in a microwave-assisted process, esters and lactones give enol ethers. The methylenating agent in this one-pot procedure is presumed to be titanocene methylidene, which is the same reactive intermediate as that generated from Tebbe, Petasis and Grubbs reagents, each of which have to be prepared before use.