Abstract
On irradiation of p-chloranil (CA), 2,2-bis(p-methoxyphenyl)-3,3-dimethyl-4-methylenecyclobutanone (1) gives 2,2-bis(p-methoxyphenyl)-4-isopropylidenecyclobutanone (2), whereas 2 affords a CA adduct (4), suggesting that a novel rearrangement of 1 to give 2 occurs irreversibly via a radical cation intermediate of 3, a radical cation variant of an unprecedented oxa-analog of tetramethyleneethane.