A mixture of (4S)-4-benzyl-3-[(triphenylphosphino) acetyl]-1,3-oxazolidin-one chloride (10 mg, 0.193 mmol), 2-naphthaldehyde (30 mg, 0.193 mmol), triethylamine (0.030 ml, 0.212 mmol) and 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine in acetonitrile (5 ml) was heated under reflux for 24 h. After evaporation, the residue was dissolved in hexaneetherdichloromethane and chromatographed on flash silica eluting with hexane:ether 3:2 to give a white solid (36 mg, 52%) of 3-[(E)-3-Naphthalen-2-ylprop-2-enoyl]-1,3-oxazolidin-2-one. M/e 358 (MH+).
