Attempted Diels-Alder reactions

Scheme 10. Attempted Diels-Alder reaction between 101 and 2,3-dimethylbutadiene (215).

Alder-Rickert cleavage was also examined as a potential route for 100 and 102, but the required precursors could not be synthesized. Bis-methano[14]annulene 105 added dicyanoacetylene in the wrong sense, and did not yield 106, which could have served as precursor of 102. Similarly, the attempted Diels-Alder reaction of the bridged cyclopropafl OJannulene 107 with dlmethoxycarbonylacetylene, which should furnish 108, produced only decomposed material. This is consistent with the observation of Halton and Russel that 107 does not add to 4-phenyl-1,2,4-tria-zoline-3,5-dione. In order to circumvent the low reactivity of 107 in cycloaddi-... 

Although obtained only in low yields upon troublesome chromatography of product mixtures that contained much polymeric material, the tricyclic benzofuran and benzothiophene lactones (61) were shown to be isolable products from attempted Diels-Alder reactions on the allene ester precursors shown in Equation (32) <85JCS(Pl)747>. Although it was noted in the case of the two thiophenes that the tricyclics appeared to be forming from a precursor (presumably a dihydro form) on the chromatographic column, it was not possible to convert the crude suspected cycloaddition adducts directly into the aromatics by dehydrogenation with DDQ. Complex mixtures were obtained instead. It is possible that the actual dienophiles in these Diels-Alder reactions are alkynes. In a related study, the bis-lactone (62) was also obtained (Equation (33)) <86H(24)88l>. 

Interestingly, when the number of equivalents of t-butyllithium was reduced from 4.0 to 1.1, all three benzyne-furan cycloadducts (i.e., 97a, 102, and 103) resulting from the three possible dibromoindole starting materials (lOOa-c) were isolated in excellent yields (Scheme 28). It is noteworthy that while the ortho dichlOTO- and dibromo-substituted indoles (94, lOOa-c) resulted in clean formation of the aryne species, the ortho difluoro derivatives lOOd-f did not behave in the same way. The attempted Diels-Alder reactions with 4,5 and 6,7-difluoroindoles lOOe and lOOf resulted only in the recovery of starting material. However, in the case of 5,6-difluoroindole lOOd, the cycloaddition resulted in the formation of 103,... 

Figure 3. Attempted Diels-Alder reactions of pentathiomonoorthooxalates.

Scheme 2.3. Unsuccessful attempts " to catalyse Diels-Alder reactions in water. M = Zri or Cti. ...

In summary, the effects of a number of important parameters on the catalysed reaction between 2.4 and 2.5 have been examined, representing the first detailed study of Lewis-acid catalysis of a Diels-Alder reaction in water. Crucial for the success of Lewis-acid catalysis of this reaction is the bidentate character of 2.4. In Chapter 4 attempts to extend the scope of Lewis-acid catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions in water beyond the restriction to bidentate substrates will be presented. 

The merits of (enantioselective) Lewis-acid catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions in aqueous solution have been highlighted in Chapters 2 and 3. Both chapters focused on the Diels-Alder reaction of substituted 3-phenyl-1-(2-pyr idyl)-2-prop ene-1-one dienophiles. In this chapter the scope of Lewis-acid catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions in water is investigated. Some literature claims in this area are critically examined and requirements for ejfective Lewis-acid catalysis are formulated. Finally an attempt is made to extend the scope of Lewis-acid catalysis in water by making use of a strongly coordinating auxiliary. 

Consequently, in initial attempts to extend the scope, we aimed to identify catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions of other bidentate dienophiles in water. This task turned out to be more difficult than expected Scheme 4.5 provides a collection of potentially chelating dienophiles that all failed to... 

This goal might well be achieved by introducing an auxiliary that aids the coordination to the catalyst. After completion of the Diels-Alder reaction and removal of the auxiliary the desired adduct is obtained. This approach is summarised in Scheme 4.6. Some examples in which a temporary additional coordination site has been introduced to aid a catalytic reaction have been reported in the literature and are described in Section 4.2.1. Section 4.2.2 relates an attempt to use (2-pyridyl)hydrazone as coordinating auxiliary for the Lewis-acid catalysed Diels-Alder reaction. 

In a second attempt to extend the scope of Lewis-acid catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions in water, we have used the Mannich reaction to convert a ketone-activated monodentate dienophile into a potentially chelating p-amino ketone. The Mannich reaction seemed ideally suited for the purpose of introducing a second coordination site on a temporary basis. This reaction adds a strongly Lewis-basic amino functionality on a position p to the ketone. Moreover, the Mannich reaction is usually a reversible process, which should allow removal of the auxiliary after the reaction. Furthermore, the reaction is compatible with the use of an aqueous medium. Some Mannich reactions have even been reported to benefit from the use of water ". Finally, Lewis-acid catalysis of Mannich-type reactions in mixtures of organic solvents and water has been reported ". Hence, if both addition of the auxiliary and the subsequent Diels-Alder reaction benefit from Lewis-acid catalysis, the possibility arises of merging these steps into a one-pot procedure. 

Benzo[Z)]furans and indoles do not take part in Diels-Alder reactions but 2-vinyl-benzo[Z)]furan and 2- and 3-vinylindoles give adducts involving the exocyclic double bond. In contrast, the benzo[c]-fused heterocycles function as highly reactive dienes in [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions. Thus benzo[c]furan, isoindole (benzo[c]pyrrole) and benzo[c]thiophene all yield Diels-Alder adducts (137) with maleic anhydride. Adducts of this type are used to characterize these unstable molecules and in a similar way benzo[c]selenophene, which polymerizes on attempted isolation, was characterized by formation of an adduct with tetracyanoethylene (76JA867). 

Dimethylquinoxaline (303) has been reported to undergo a Diels-Alder reaction with maleic anhydride to give 304, 305 having been postulated to be the reactive form. However, attempted confirmation of this unexpected result has shown that 304 is not the correct structure of the reaction product. " In 1931, other chemical evidence was advanced in support of structure 305,but it would no longer be considered valid. 

During the past decade, many papers have dealt with the facial selectivities of Diels-Alder reactions, particularly in relation to dienes [153-159], and various attempts have been made to rationalize the origins of the selectivities [160]. The facial selectivities of Diels-Alder reactions are discussed in detail in Chapter jt-Fadal Selectivity of Diels-Alder Reactions by Ishida and hiagaki in this volume. In this and the following section, we will consider the facial selectivities of Diels-Alder reactions in terms of orbital phase enviromnent. 

Starting from 27, cyclo-Cig was prepared in the gas phase by laser flash heating and the neutral product, formed by stepwise elimination of three anthracene molecules in retro-Diels-Alder reactions, was detected by resonant two-photon-ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry [23]. However, all attempts to prepare macroscopic quantities of the cyclocarbon by flash vacuum pyrolysis using solvent-assisted sublimation [50] only afforded anthracene and polymeric material. 

A warning was given that the 5 molar solution in ether used as a solvent for Diels-Alder reactions would lead to explosions [1], Such a reaction of dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate and cyclooctatetraene in this solvent exploded very violently on heating. The cyclooctatetraene was blamed, with no supporting evidence [2], It would appear desirable to find the detonability limits of the mixture with ether before any attempt is made to scale up. A safe alternative to lithium perchlorate/ether as a solvent for Diels-Alder reactions is proposed [3],... 

Apparently, 3 undergoes [4 + 2] cycloadditions with inverse electron demand more readily than normal Diels-Alder reactions (see Sect. 2.1.1). This is in accord with the high lying HOMO of bicyclopropylidene [12]. Several attempts to trap the monomeric 173, which should be in equilibrium with 174 [42], as a cycloadduct with a second molecule of 3 were unsuccessful even at elevated temperatures in chloroform (70 °C) or toluene-d8 (150°C) [13b]. 

In an attempt to prepare new diprenorphine analogs, Linders, in one of the first examples of microwave-induced organic reactions, reported the reaction between methyl vinyl ketone and 6-demethoxy-/J-dihydrothebaine (48) [53], The Diels-Alder reaction, when performed under classical conditions, led to extensive polymerization of the dienophile. A dramatic improvement was achieved when the cycloaddition was conducted in a modified microwave oven at the reflux temperature of methyl vinyl ketone. By use of these conditions adducts 49 and 50 were obtained in a 3 2 ratio, according to HPLC (Scheme 9.12). 

The Diels-Alder reaction of 1-azadienes suffers from low conversion, because of the low reactivity of these systems. In an attempt to overcome this problem, considerable effort has been focused on both inter- and intramolecular versions of the reaction. 

Bayardon and Sinou have reported the synthesis of chiral bisoxazolines, which also proved to be active ligands in the asymmetric allylic alkylation of l,3-diphenylprop-2-enyl acetate, as well as cyclopropanation, allylic oxidations and Diels-Alder reactions. [62] The ligands do not have a fluorine content greater than 60 wt% and so are not entirely preferentially soluble in fluorous solvents, which may lead to a significant ligand loss in the reaction system and in fact, all recycling attempts were unsuccessful. However, the catalytic results achieved were comparable with those obtained with their non-fluorous analogues. 

If X = AcO, intermediate SENA can be trapped by methyl acrylate in the [3+ 2]-cycloaddition reaction (isoxazolidine (416)). If X=C1, attempts to trap silyl nitronate failed however, nitroethylene was detected in a Diels-Alder reaction. By contrast, SENAs, in which X=OSiMe3 or NHPh, are quite stable. Therefore, the substituents X can be arranged in the following series of increasing elimination rates of SiX Cl > AcO > > PhNH. 

In an approach by Jung and Nishimura, the assembly of the dysidiolide decalin skeleton 54 was deemed possible via an intermolecular Diels-Alder reaction between cydohexene 52 and dienophile 53 [14]. Based on precedent established by Wulff et al. [15] [where Z = C(OCH3)=Cr(CO)5], the cycloaddition should give predominantly the exo isomer as shown (Scheme 19.12). However, all attempts to effect the cydoad-dition simply gave recovery of starting material. It was reasoned that steric hindrance was to blame. The steric hindrance assodated with the dienophile was decreased by replacing one of the methyl groups with another double bond in the... 

Solvents and additives can influence Diels-Alder reactions through a multitude of different interactions, of which the contributions to the overall rate depend uniquely on the particular solvent-diene-dienophile combination. Attempts to build a general picture are limited to the most extensively studied type (a) Diels-Alder reactions. These Diels-Alder reactions are dominated by hydrogen-bonding and solvophobic interactions. This observation predicts a very special role of water as a solvent for type (a) Diels-Alder reactions. 

The Diels-Alder reaction is one of the most powerful and versatile carbon-carbon bond-forming methods available to synthetic organic chemists attempts to isolate enzymes that catalyze such a process have been unsuccessful. Therefore, the acceleration of this reaction by an abzyme has been an important landmark in the field of catalytic antibodies and of considerable potential for chemical synthesis. 

While indirect selections work quite well for antibodies they have been less successful in the case of catalytic nucleic acids. There are only three examples which prove that it is possible in principle to obtain a ribo- or deoxyribozyme by selecting an aptamer that binds to a TSA A rotamase ribozyme [7], a ribozyme capable of catalyzing the metallation of a porphyrin derivative [92], and one catalytic DNA of the same function [93]. Another study reported the selection of a population of RNA-aptamers which bind to a TSA for a Diels-Alder reaction but the subsequent screen for catalytic activity was negative for all individual RNAs tested [94]. The attempt to isolate a transesterase ribozyme using the indirect approach also failed [95]. 

Diels-Alder reactions with alkynes as dienophiles have been known for a long time. Iminoboranes, however, will more readily cyclodimerize than react with dienes, and even the cyclodimers are generally superior to dienes in the competition for excess iminoborane. Among many attempts, therefore, only two reactions with iminoboranes as dienophiles have been successful, and in both of them the diene is cyclo-pentadiene [Eq. (55)] (9, 14). 

Our initial studies focused on the transition metal-catalyzed [4+4] cycloaddition reactions of bis-dienes. These reactions are thermally forbidden, but occur photochemically in some specific, constrained systems. While the transition metal-catalyzed intermole-cular [4+4] cycloaddition of simple dienes is industrially important [7], this process generally does not work well with more complex substituted dienes and had not been explored intramolecularly. In the first studies on the intramolecular metal-catalyzed [4+4] cycloaddition, the reaction was found to proceed with high regio-, stereo-, and facial selectivity. The synthesis of (+)-asteriscanoHde (12) (Scheme 13.4a) [8] is illustrative of the utihty and step economy of this reaction. Recognition of the broader utiHty of adding dienes across rc-systems (not just across other dienes) led to further studies on the use of transition metal catalysts to facilitate otherwise difficult Diels-Alder reactions [9]. For example, the attempted thermal cycloaddition of diene-yne 15 leads only... 

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