Ethers are among the most important chemicals in organic synthesis, the pharmaceutical industry, agrochemical production, and material science. C-O bond formation via substitution is one of the most widely used strategies for ether formation. However, known methods usually employ transition-metal and bases to facilitate the process. In this work, we describe the base- and transition-metal-free ether formation via alcohol and phenol-participated substitution. The protocol allows access to a large number of ethers with enyne functional moieties, and features mild reaction conditions, high efficiency, and good regio- and stereoselectivities. The reaction could be readily scaled up, and the products could be used in a range of further transformations.

醚是有机合成、制药工业、农用化学品生产和材料科学中最重要的化学品之一。通过取代形成CO键是最广泛使用的醚形成策略之一。然而，已知的方法通常采用过渡金属和碱来促进该过程。在这项工作中，我们描述了通过醇和酚参与的取代形成不含碱和过渡金属的醚。该方案允许获得大量带有烯炔功能部分的醚，具有反应条件温和、效率高、区域选择性和立体选择性好的特点。该反应可以很容易地扩大规模，并且产物可以用于一系列进一步的转化。