Bicyclooctadienes synthesis

A synthesis of substituted phenanthrenes has been reported using the bicyclooctadienes (61) as starting material. The process makes use of the nucleofugal group on C-8 and follows the path outlined in Scheme 3. This involves a di-rr-methane bridging process followed by the collapse of the intermediate biradical (62). Normal di-Ti-methane behaviour is reported in the acetophenone-sensitized irradiation of the isoquinolinone derivative (63a). This yields the two products (64) and (65) as a 3 1 mixture in a total yield of 75%. An N-oxide derivative gave a brown polymer with little evidence for the formation of di-n-methane products. The influence of ring substituents was also studied for the derivatives (63b, d) and the results of this are shown in Scheme 4. The authors conclude that the cyclization process is under LUMO control. Irradiation of the dihydropyridine (66) affords the oxidised pyridine (67) as the major product. A minor product (68) is also formed by a di-ir- methane process. ... 

Synthesis of polysubstituted benzenes by a Diels-Alder reaction of cyclohexadienes with acetylenes, via bicyclooctadienes. 

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