Electrocyclic cyclization

Langer and colleagues explored the generation and cyclization of cyano-stabilized anions to give indoles and carbolines [44-46], For example, 5-carbolines were accessible via 2-alkyhdene-3-iminoindoles (Scheme 12, equations 1, 2) [45]. These workers uncovered the remarkable double domino cyclization/electrocyclization/elimination reaction (equation 3) [46], a fitting reaction to conclude this chapter ... 

The direct connection of rings A and D at C l cannot be achieved by enamine or sul> fide couplings. This reaction has been carried out in almost quantitative yield by electrocyclic reactions of A/D Secocorrinoid metal complexes and constitutes a magnificent application of the Woodward-Hoffmann rules. First an antarafacial hydrogen shift from C-19 to C-1 is induced by light (sigmatropic 18-electron rearrangement), and second, a conrotatory thermally allowed cyclization of the mesoionic 16 rc-electron intermediate occurs. Only the A -trans-isomer is formed (A. Eschenmoser, 1974 A. Pfaltz, 1977). 

Ring contraction and intramolecular cyclization constitute a convenient route to ring-fused systems that would be difficult to synthesize in other ways. H- 1,2-Diazepines (538) undergo electrocyclic ring closure to the fused pyrazole system (539) (71CC1022). Azepines also undergo similar valence bond isomerizations. 

The important synthesis of pyrazoles and pyrazolines from aldazines and ketazines belongs to this subsection. Formic acid has often been used to carry out the cyclization (66AHQ6)347) and N-formyl-A -pyrazolines are obtained. The proposed mechanism (70BSF4119) involves the electrocyclic ring closure of the intermediate (587) to the pyrazoline (588 R = H) which subsequently partially isomerizes to the more stable trans isomer (589 R = H) (Section 4.04.2.2.2(vi)). Both isomers are formylated in the final step (R = CHO). 

Buta-1,3-diene, 1 -(2 -furyl)-pyrolysis, 4, 600 Buta-1,3-diene, 1-mercapto-thiophenes from, 4, 887 Buta-1,3-diene, 1 -(1 -methyl-2-pyrrolyl)-thermal cyclization, 4, 285 Buta-1,3-diene, l-(2-thienyl)-electrocyclization, 4, 748 Butadienes... 

Electrocyclic reactions of 1,3,5-trienes lead to 1,3-cyclohexadienes. These ring closures also exhibit a high degree of stereospecificity. The ring closure is normally the favored reaction in this case, because the cyclic compound, which has six a bonds and two IT bonds, is thermodynamically more stable than the triene, which has five a and three ir bonds. The stereospecificity is illustrated with octatrienes 3 and 4. ,Z, -2,4,6-Octatriene (3) cyclizes only to cw-5,6-dimethyl-l,3-cyclohexadiene, whereas the , Z,Z-2,4,6-octa-triene (4) leads exclusively to the trans cyclohexadiene isomer. A point of particular importance regarding the stereochemistry of this reaction is that the groups at the termini of the triene system rotate in the opposite sense during the cyclization process. This mode... 

The prediction on the basis of orbital symmetry analysis that cyclization of eight-n-electron systems will be connotatoiy has been confirmed by study of isomeric 2,4,6,8-decatetraenes. Electrocyclic reaction occurs near room temperature and establishes an equilibrium that favors the cyclooctatriene product. At slightly more elevated temperatures, the hexatriene system undergoes a subsequent disrotatory cyclization, establishing equilibrium with the corresponding bicyclo[4.2.0]octa-2,4-diene ... 

There are also examples of electrocyclic processes involving anionic species. Since the pentadienyl anion is a six-7c-electron system, thermal cyclization to a cyclopentenyl anion should be disrotatory. Examples of this electrocyclic reaction are rare. NMR studies of pentadienyl anions indicate that they are stable and do not tend to cyclize. Cyclooctadienyllithium provides an example where cyclization of a pentadienyl anion fragment does occur, with the first-order rate constant being 8.7 x 10 min . The stereochemistry of the ring closure is consistent with the expected disrotatory nature of the reaction. 

The proposed mechanism for the Conrad-Limpach reaction is shown below. Condensation of an aniline with a 3-keto-ester (i.e., ethyl acetoacetate 5) with loss of water provides enamino-ester 6. Enolization furnishes 10 which undergoes thermal cyclization, analogous to the Gould-Jacobs reaction, via 6n electrocyclization to yield intermediate 11. Compound 11 suffers loss of alcohol followed by tautomerization to give 4-hydroxy-2-methylquinoline 7. An alternative to the proposed formation of 10 is ejection of alcohol from 6 furnishing ketene 13, which then undergoes 671 electrocyclization to provide 12. 

That electrocyclic reaction is related to the Claisen rearrangement of phenyl vinyl ether. In a final step a cyclization takes place with subsequent elimination of ammonia to yield the indole 2 ... 

Upon treatment of a divinyl ketone 1 with a protic acid or a Lewis acid, an electrocyclic ring closure can take place to yield a cyclopentenone 3. This reaction is called the Nazarov cyclization Protonation at the carbonyl oxygen of the divinyl ketone 1 leads to formation of a hydroxypentadienyl cation 2, which can undergo a thermally allowed, conrotatory electrocyclic ring closure reaction to give a cyclopentenyl cation 4. Through subsequent loss of a proton a mixture of isomeric cyclopentenones 5 and 6 is obtained ... 

A similar result is obtained for the thermal electrocyclic ring-opening of 3,4-dimethylcyclobutene. The trans isomer yields only (2 ,4 )-2,4-hexadiene when heated, and the cis isomer yields only (2 ,4Z)-2,4-hexadiene. On UV irradiation, however, the results are opposite. Cyclization of the 2E,4 isomer under photochemical conditions yields cis product (Figure 30.4). 

Thermal and photochemical cycloaddition reactions always take place with opposite stereochemistry. As with electrocyclic reactions, we can categorize cycloadditions according to the total number of electron pairs (double bonds) involved in the rearrangement. Thus, a thermal Diels-Alder [4 + 2] reaction between a diene and a dienophile involves an odd number (three) of electron pairs and takes place by a suprafacial pathway. A thermal [2 + 2] reaction between two alkenes involves an even number (two) of electron pairs and must take place by an antarafacial pathway. For photochemical cyclizations, these selectivities are reversed. The general rules are given in Table 30.2. 

Electrocyclization of certain a,/ y,<5-unsaturated diazo compounds, in which one of the double bonds is embedded in an aromatic ring, affords benzodiazepines. The diazoalkenes 1, produced by heating the sodium salts of the corresponding tosylhydrazoncs, can undergo two kinds of cyclization, [1,5] to yield 3//-pyrazoles, and [1,7] to give diazepines. 

The cyclopentene derivatives 9 undergo both 1,5- and 1,7-dipolar electrocyclizations to yield mixtures of pyrazoles 10 and benzodiazepines 11. In addition, loss of nitrogen results in the carbenes 12, which cyclize to the tetrahydrocyclopent[fl]indenes 13.117... 

Thermolysis of the l-(2-thienyl)-3-diazoalkenes 1 gives 3//-thieno[3,2-f]-l,2-diazepines 2 by sequential 1,7-dipolar electrocyclization and [l,5]-hydrogen shifts, together with 37/-pyrazoles 3, which are produced by a competing 1,5-cyclization.140... 

Although the exact mechanism of the Tschitschibabin cyclisation has not been elucidated, it is reasonable, as shown in Scheme 4, to assume a series of reversible steps from the vinylogous ylide (or methylide) to a methine and an enol-betaine intermediate and then finally an irreversible dehydration to the indolizine nucleus. The reaction might be related to the modern electrocyclic 1,5 dipolar cyclization. 

It is interesting to note that while the electrocyclic reaction shown in Eq. (9.104) has been developed into a very useful synthetic reaction, not all stilbene-type systems cyclize. For the reaction to occur, the sum of the free valence indices (2 F ) for the first excited state at atoms between which the new bond is formed must be greater than unityu83,184) ... 

Scheme 3.79. Domino radical cyclization/fragmentation/electrocyclization for the synthesis of a dihydroindene.

The group of Nakatani introduced photochemically induced cyclization that takes advantage of a system in which a carbene generator and a carbene trap are combined in the same molecule [37]. Thus, irradiation of compound 5-105 induced a cyclization to give an intermediate carbene 5-106, which underwent an intramolecular trapping by a pericyclic 6jt electrocyclization to afford 5-107 in a very good yield of 95% (Scheme 5.21). 

The Nazarov cyclization of vinyl aryl ketones involves a disruption of the aromaticity, and therefore, the activation barrier is significantly higher than that of the divinyl ketones. Not surprisingly, the Lewis acid-catalyzed protocols [30] resulted only in decomposition to the enone derived from 46,47, and CO. Pleasingly, however, photolysis [31] readily delivered the desired annulation product 48 in 60 % yield. The photo-Nazarov cyclization reaction of aryl vinyl ketones was first reported by Smith and Agosta. Subsequent mechanistic studies by Leitich and Schaffner revealed the reaction mechanism to be a thermal electrocyclization induced by photolytic enone isomerization. The mildness of these reaction conditions and the selective activation of the enone functional group were key to the success of this reaction. 

Electrocyclic reactions are examples of cases where n-electron bonds transform to sigma ones [32,49,55]. A prototype is the cyclization of butadiene to cyclobutene (Fig. 8, lower panel). In this four electron system, phase inversion occurs if no new nodes are formed along the reaction coordinate. Therefore, when the ring closure is disrotatory, the system is Hiickel type, and the reaction a phase-inverting one. If, however, the motion is conrotatory, a new node is formed along the reaction coordinate just as in the HC1 + H system. The reaction is now Mobius type, and phase preserving. This result, which is in line with the Woodward-Hoffmann rules and with Zimmerman s Mobius-Hiickel model [20], was obtained without consideration of nuclear symmetry. This conclusion was previously reached by Goddard [22,39]. 

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