Benzo-fused bicyclic sulfonium salts

Thiopyrylium ions have been shown to behave as effective dienophiles. Shimizu and co-workers demonstrated that 2-benzothiopyrylium salts undergo [4+2+]-type cationic polar cycloadditions with various 1,3-dienes yield benzo-fused bicyclic sulfonium salts <1994J(P1)3129> (see Section 8.32.2.1.2 of CHEC-II(1996)). However, in this study the authors observed that cycloaddition of 2-benzothiopyrylium salt 40 with 2,3-dimethylbuta-l,3-diene 41a with prolonged reaction times caused a decrease in yield of the cycloadduct 22a (see entries 1 and 2 in Table 5 and Equation 10). In fact, stirring of the reaction mixture for 30 h did not afford the cycloadduct at all, see entry 3, but gave an undetermined complex mixture. 

Benzothiopyrylium salts have also been shown to undergo [4+2+]-polar cycloadditions with 1,3-dienes in dry 1,2-dichloroethane at room temperature <1996J(P1)2227>. Treatment of 43 with 2,3-dimethylbuta-l,3-diene 41a afforded benzo-fused bicyclic sulfonium salts 22, as shown in Equation (12) and Table 6. The 4-cyano-substituted benzothiopyrylium salt 43d proved to be the most reactive of these substrates (see entry 4). 

Such a reaction may occur on treatment of the benzo-fused bicyclic sulfonium salt 37 with various bases under aerobic conditions. The incipient allylic diradical 39 is trapped as 1,3-diradical by molecular oxygen to give a mixture of up to 35% diastereomeric Spiro-1,2-dioxolanes 40. The spirocyclopentene 41 is obtained in a competing path in which allylic diradical 39 is cyclized as a 1,5-carbon-centered diradicaE . 

The benzo-fused bicyclic sulfonium salts (172) can be prepared as cycloadducts of 2-thiana-phthylium ions (171) with various butadienes (91TL5571). 

The benzo-fused bicyclic sulfonium salts 179 can be prepared via [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions of 2-thianaphthy-lium ions 178 with various butadienes (e.g., Scheme 105) . 

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