Manganese(III) acetate based tandem oxidation of various α and β-alkoxy α,β-unsaturated ketones

We described the unusual results of manganese(III) acetate based tandem oxidation of various α and β-alkoxy α,β-unsaturated ketones to afford the corresponding α′-acetoxy-α′-phenyl substituted oxidation products in good yields. The tandem oxidation to monoacetoxylation ratio can be tuned by the amount of manganese(III) acetate.