Abstract
Dimethylzinc-mediated addition of acyloxymethyl radicals to diethyl fumarate led to the highly stereoselective formation of disubstituted gamma-lactones in mean to good yields; this cascade provides a new example of a one-pot process mediated by dimethylzinc involving a tandem radical-anionic reaction; the chemoselectivity of the reaction was totally modified by additional Lewis acids.