The stereoselectivity of the acid-catalyzed ring expansion of dihydrofuranyl and dihydropyranyl 1,2-adducts to spirocyclic ketones 8 and 9 has been examined. These substrates have become readily available by the utilization of 1,3-dichloroacetone as a synthetic equivalent of cyclopropanone. The kinetically controlled isomerizations result in ring expansion to dispirocyclopentanones. Third-stage conversion to trispirocyclohexanones was shown to be possible in select examples. On a different front, the syn and anti pairs proved capable of interconversion by heating in the presence of boron trifluoride etherate. A push–pull fragmentation of the ketone ring is proposed to account for these epimerizations. Calculations have been performed to simulate transition state energies in the oxonium ion intermediates and to gain some idea of the preferred ground-state geometries of the final products.Key words: oxonium ion rearrangements, ring expansions, acid-catalyzed epimerizations, cyclopropanone equivalent, spirocyclic ethers.
