Diels-Alder Reaction regio-selectivity

The Diels-Alder reaction is of wide scope. Not all the atoms involved in ring formation have to be carbon atoms the hetero-Diels-Alder reaction involving one or more heteroatom centers can be used for the synthesis of six-membered heterocycles. The reverse of the Diels-Alder reaction—the retro-Diels-Alder reaction —also is of interest as a synthetic method. Moreover and most importantly the usefulness of the Diels-Alder reaction is based on its 5y -stereospecifi-city, with respect to the dienophile as well as the diene, and its predictable regio-and c ifo-selectivities. °... 

The combination of thionation by Lawesson s reagent [98] of oxoenamino-ketones 96 with normal electron-demand Diels-Alder reaction of conjugated aldehydes allows a variety of thiopyrans 97 to be synthesized by a regio-selective and chemoselective one-pot methodology [99] (Equation 2.28). Thionation occurred at the more electrophilic ketonic carbonyl group. O O... 

The discovery that Lewis acids can promote Diels-Alder reactions has become a powerful tool in synthetic organic chemistry. Yates and Eaton [4] first reported the remarkable acceleration of the reactions of anthracene with maleic anhydride, 1,4-benzoquinone and dimethyl fumarate catalyzed by aluminum chloride. The presence of the Lewis-acid catalyst allows the cycloadditions to be carried out under mild conditions, reactions with low reactive dienes and dienophiles are made possible, and the stereoselectivity, regioselectivity and site selectivity of the cycloaddition reaction can be modified [5]. Consequently, increasing attention has been given to these catalysts in order to develop new regio- and stereoselective synthetic routes based on the Diels-Alder reaction. 

Similarly a marked increase of regioselectivity has been shown in the catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions of the chiral bicyclic lactame 24 (Scheme 3.9) with a variety of dienes [27] (isoprene, mircene, (E,E)-L4-dimethylbutadiene, 2,3-di-methylbutadiene, 2-siloxybutadiene). The catalyzed reactions were more regio-selective and totally enJo-antz-diastereoselective anti with respect to the bridgehead methyl group). The results of the cycloadditions with isoprene and mircene are reported in Scheme 3.9. The cycloadducts have then been used to provide interesting fused carbocycles [28] with high enantiomeric purity as shown in Scheme 3.10. 

It has long been known that unsaturated compounds containing a delocalized system of 71 electrons can rearrange into cyclic compounds or other n systems. Such reactions were only incidentally studied until 1930. 0. Diels and K. Alder published their first paper on diene synthesis (which was later given the name Diels-Alder reaction) in 1928. Subsequent work of K. Alder and G. Stein (1933 and 1937) proved the generality of the reaction and its high regio and stereo selectivity. This led to the interest on thermal transformations in unsaturated compounds. 

In a rather elegant approach towards colombiasin A (36) Flynn et al. [47] would access the tetracyclic carbon skeleton through an enantioselective intermolecular Diels-Alder sulfoxide elimination-intramolecular Diels-Alder (DA-E-IMDA) sequence between double-diene 166 and quinone 167 (Scheme 26). A key element of the proposed approach would be the chiral sulfoxy group in 167 which controls both the regio and facial selectivity of the intermolecular Diels-Alder reaction and eliminates generation of the dienophile for the IMDA reaction. 

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... 

Although mixtures are often obtained, usually one predominates, the one indicated above. This regioselectivity, in which the ortho or para product is favored over the meta, has been explained by molecular-orbital considerations.864 When X = N02, regioselectivity to give the ortho or "para product was very high at room temperature, and this method, combined with subsequent removal of the N02 (see 0-82) has been used to perform regio-selective Diels-Alder reactions.865... 

Styrene, leads to [4 + 2]-adducts exclusively (251-258) 242 is also isolated in varying amounts, With methyl sorbate both [4 + 2]- and [4 + 4]-adducts (259-262) are obtained. 1,4-Dicarbomethoxybutadiene does not add to 138 242 is obtained in 90% yield. All photoadducts (251-262) are photolabile on irradiation (z — 253.7 nm) they are reconverted to 138 and the alkene. Significantly for preparative purposes, the product distributions (stereo-, regio-, and peri-selectivity) differ considerably from those obtained in the thermal Diels-Alder reactions (Section IV,B) mechanistic details are given in the original papers. 

A review cataloging intramolecular Diels-Alder reactions as key steps in the total synthesis of natural products has been published.78 A key step in the total synthesis (g) of (+)-dihydrocompactin (66) is the intramolecular ionic Diels-Alder reaction of the trienone (63) to yield the (+)-compactin core compound (65) via the intermediate cyclic vinyloxocarbenium ion (64) (Scheme 17).79 The intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction of the Asp-Thr tethered compound (67) produced the cycloadduct (68) with high regio- and stereo-selectivity (Scheme 18).80 Mixed quantum and molec- (g) ular mechanics (QM/MM) combined with Monte Carlo simulations and free-energy perturbation (FEP) calculations have been used to show that macrophomate synthase... 

Diels-Alder reactions of (Z)-A -substituted-4-methylene-5-propylidene-2-oxazoli-dinone dienes with methyl vinyl ketone, methyl propiolate, and captodative alkenes yield the highest regio- and stereo-selectivities in mixtures of H20 and MeOH or under BF3.Et20 catalysis.198 The asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction of cyclopentadiene and 3-acryloyl-2-oxazolidinone is catalysed by a new Cu(II) catalyst containing a chiral sterically congested roofed (2-diphenylphosphino)phenylthiazoline ligand (169).199... 

Explain why this Diels-Alder reaction gives total regio-selectivity and stereospecificity but no stereoselectivity. What is the mechanism of the second step What alternative route might you have considered if you wanted to make this final product and why would you reject it ... 

No doubt the Diels-Alder reaction will lend itself to further extensions of scope and selectivity. Nevertheless, the current state of the art and the pivotal applications of Diels-Alder adducts (XXX) for the efficient chemo-, regio- and stereo-selective syntheses of complex structures, e.g. via annulation processes (a, b) and/or cleavage reactions (c, d, e) speak for themselves (Scheme 6). An adequate treatise would vastly exceed the limits of this chapter. 

An elegant diastereocontrolled synthesis of the sesquiteipene trichodiene (201) relies on a smooth regio- and stereo-selective Diels-Alder reaction of 2-[(phenylthio)methyl]-1,3-butadiene (197) with the a-methylenelactone (198), giving the para adduct (199) in 89% yield (Scheme 47). ... 

Table 4 Influence of AlCb on the Regio and Endo Selectivity of the Diels-Alder Reaction between ( )-2,4-Pentadiene and Methyl Acrylate in Benzene (Scheme 49)...

Diels-Alder reactions showed a pronounced increase of rate, endo- and regio-selectivity when carried out in organic solvents in the presence of modified clays or zeolites. Similar improvements could be accomplished by co-adsorption of the reactants on dry Si02 in the absence of organic solvents. Hiese trends are summarized below and compared with the results obtained by employing the classical-thermal ,Lewis acid catalyzed, " " high pressure or aqueous reaction conditions. 

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