The palladium-catalysed reaction of vinyl triflates with Z-2-buten-1,4-diol affords B-vinyl-u-butyrolactols (4-vinyl-2-hydroxy-tetrahydrofurans) which are converted into the corresponding 8-vinyl-u-butyrolactones by a smooth oxidation with Ag2C03 on celite. Preparation of 8-substituted-v-butyrolactones can be performed without the isolation of the intermediate u-butyrolactols, thus simplifying the procedure and usually with higher overall yields. The outcome of the palladium-catalysed formation of 8-substituted-y-butyrolactols strongly depends on the nature of the added base. Best results are obtained by using NaHC03 or K2CO3 in the presence of n-Bu4NCl or TEBA. A large number of v-butyrolactones are known as neurologic drugs and show convulsant and anticonvulsant activity depending on the nature of the substituents on the pentaatomic ring.' The v-butyrolactone ring is also part of a number of natural substances2 and is a useful intermediate in organic synthesis.2a*3 Because of these reasons a variety of approaches to their synthesis has been published and many of them rely upon palladium chemistry. r-Butyrolactones have been prepared through palladium-catalysed 1,4-oxylactonization of cycle-2,4-dien-l-y1 acetic acids,40xycarbonylation of 4-en-l,3-diols,5 di-alkoxycarbonylation of 3-en-l-ols,6 and coupling of vinyl halides or triflates with 3-butenoic acid.7 As part of our ongoing interest in the palladium-catalysed synthesis of five-membered oxygen-containing heterocyclic rings8 and in the palladium chemistry of organic triflates, we decided to investigate the reaction of vinyl triflates (1) with the inexpensive, commercially available Z-E-buten-1,4-diol (2). Based on the successful use of vinyl triflates as vinyl donors systems' and on the known behaviour with organic halides, 10 we thought in the palladium-catalysed reactions with olefinic of allylic alcohols in palladium-catalysed reactions the scheme 1 a viable route to O-alkenyl-v-butyro-