Elucidation of mechanisms and discovery of novel reactions are interconnected, as four research chapters from the Munich laboratory demonstrate. 1) In a new opening of the furan ring, 2-methoxyfuran and tetra-acceptor-substituted ethylenes furnish methyl acrylates, which are cis-3-substituted by a cyclopropyl ring that bears the four acceptor groups. Experiments with trans- and cis-1,2-bis(trif...