Electron-rich dienophiles

Contrary to the normal Diels-Alder processes, the FMO (Frontier Molecular Orbitals) involved in inverse electron demand Diels-Alder reactions are the LUMO of the diene (1,2,4,5-tetrazine) and the HOMO of the dienophile (electron-rich al-kene). The reactivity of tetrazines 1 toward ethyl vinyl ether would depend on the LUMO diene-HOMO dienophile gap. Thus, the combination LUMO-HOMO having a smaller energy gap will lead to the faster reaction. In this case the LUMO for la has a lower energy than that of lb and this will be reflected in their relative reactivities. Energy gaps between tetrazines 1 and ethyl vinyl ether are 6.61 eV for la and 6.64 eV for lb. In consequence, tetrazine la will be more reactive toward ethyl vinyl ether than lb. 

FMO theory requires that a HOMO of one reactant has to be correlated with the LUMO of the other reactant. The decision between the two alternatives - i.e., from which reactant the HOMO should be taken - is made on the basis of which is the smaller energy difference in our case the HOMO of the electron rich diene, 3.1, has to be correlated with the LUMO of the electron-poor dienophile, 3.2. The smaller this HOMO-LUMO gap, the higher the reactivity will be. With the HOMO and LUMO fixed, the orbital coefficients of these two orbitals can explain the regios-electivity of the reaction, which strongly favors the formation of 3.3 over 3.4. 

D-A rxns with electron rich dienes and electron defficient dienophiles work the best. 

D-A rxns with electron deficient dienes and electron rich dienophiles also work well. These are refered to as reverse demand D-A rxns. 

Fluorine-substituted heterodienes are particularly prone to inverse electron demand Diels-Alder reactions with electron-rich dienophiles, as can be seen from the examples in equations 94-97 [113, 114, 115, 116, 117]... 

Perfluoroalkyl groups adjacent to multiple bond systems lower the frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs) Therefore, cycloaddition reactions preferentially occur with electron-rich multiple-bond systems The preference of bis(trifluoromethyl)-substituted hetero-l,3-dienes for polar reacuons makes them excellent model compounds for developing new types of diene reactions deviating from the well documented Diels-Alder scheme (pathway 1) A systematic study of the reactions of diene (1 =2-3=4)-dienophile (5=6) combinations reveals new synthetic possibilities that have not yet been fully exploited as tools for preparative organic cherrustry (equation 25)... 

The most common and synthetically most useful Diels-Alder reactions involve the addition of an electron-rich diene and an electron-poor dienophile, e.g. 

According to Frontier Molecular Orbital (FMO) theory, Diels-Alder reaction between an electron-rich diene and an electron-poor dienophile involves interaction between the highest-occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) on the diene and the lowest-unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) on the dienophile. The better the HOMO/LUMO overlap and the smaller their energy difference, the more favorable the interaction and the faster the reaction. 

Experimentally, the rates of Diels-Alder reactions between electron-rich dienes and electron-poor dienophiles generally increase with increased alkyl substitution on the diene. This is because alkyl groups act as electron donors and lead to buildup of electron density on the diene. An exception to this is the reaction of Z,Z-hexa-2,4-diene with tetracyanoethylene (TCNE), which is actually slower than the corresponding addition involving E-penta-1,3-diene. 

More recently, Neunhoeffer showed that 1,3,5-triazines 16 could react with electron rich dienophiles, such as 17, to produce pyrimidines 18. 

The total syntheses of fredericamycin 71 and camptothecin 72 made use of similar strategies. N-Sulfonyl-l-aza-1,3-butadienes in conjunction with electron rich dienophiles participated in the inverse electron demand Diels-Alder reaction to afford pyridines after treatment with base. 

Besides nucleophile-induced transformations the Hetero Diels-Alder (HDA) cycloaddition reactions are also very suitable ways to perform the pyrimidine-to-pyridine ring transformations. They can occur either by a reaction of an electron-poor pyrimidine system with an electron-rich dienophile (inverse HDA reactions) or by reacting an electron-enriched pyrimidine with an electron-poor dienophile (normal HDA reactions) (see Section II.B). 

The hetero Diels-Alder [4+2] cycloaddition (HDA reaction) is a very efficient methodology to perform pyrimidine-to-pyridine transformations. Normal (NHDA) and Inverse (IHDA) cycloaddition reactions, intramolecular as well as intermolecular, are reported, although the IHDA cycloadditions are more frequently observed. The NHDA reactions require an electron-rich heterocycle, which reacts with an electron-poor dienophile, while in the IHDA cycloadditions a n-electron-deficient heterocycle reacts with electron-rich dienophiles, such as 0,0- and 0,S-ketene acetals, S,S-ketene thioacetals, N,N-ketene acetals, enamines, enol ethers, ynamines, etc. 

Extension of this work by reacting 5-nitropyrimidine with 0,0-ketene acetals and with other cyclic and non-cyclic enamines showed that also with these electron-rich dienophiles the addition is regioselective and gives rise to the formation of 2-mono- or 2,3-disubstituted 5-nitropyridines (Scheme 30). Thus, reaction of 5-nitropyrimidine with the cyclic N,S-ketene acetals 4,5-dihydro-1 -methyl-2-methylthiopyrrole and 4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1 -methyl-2-methylthioazepine gives in low yields 2,3-dihydro-1-methyl-5-nitropyr-olo[2,3-h]pyridine and the 5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-9-methyl-3-nitropyrido [2,3-Z)]azepine, respectively (89T2693) (Scheme 30). 

The normal electron-demand reaction is a HOMOdiene-LUMOdienophUeelectron-rich dienes and electron-deficient dienophiles (Scheme 4.2, left dotted line). The inverse electron-demand cycloaddition reaction is primarily controlled by a LUMOdiene HOMOdienophiie inter-... 

The coordination of the dienophile to a Lewis acid (in the calculations a proton was used as the Lewis acid) leads also to an increase in regioselectivity. The re-gioselectivity of reactions of electron-rich, or conjugated dienes, with electron-deficient dienophiles is also controlled hy the diene HOMO-dienophile LUMO interaction. From Fig. 8.2 it appears that the difference in magnitudes of the LUMO coefficients at carhon atoms 1 and 2 of acrolein (Ci -C2 = 0.20) is smaller than the same difference for protonated acrolein (Ci -C2 = 0.30-0.43) so that the reaction of the latter should he considerable more regioselective than the former in accordance with the experimental results [3]. 

The Diels-Alder reaction,is a cycloaddition reaction of a conjugated diene with a double or triple bond (the dienophile) it is one of the most important reactions in organic chemistry. For instance an electron-rich diene 1 reacts with an electron-poor dienophile 2 (e.g. an alkene bearing an electron-withdrawing substituent Z) to yield the unsaturated six-membered ring product 3. An illustrative example is the reaction of butadiene 1 with maleic anhydride 4 ... 

For the ordinary Diels-Alder reaction the dienophile preferentially is of the electron-poor type electron-withdrawing substituents have a rate enhancing effect. Ethylene and simple alkenes are less reactive. Substituent Z in 2 can be e.g. CHO, COR, COOH, COOR, CN, Ar, NO2, halogen, C=C. Good dienophiles are for example maleic anhydride, acrolein, acrylonitrile, dehydrobenzene, tetracya-noethylene (TCNE), acetylene dicarboxylic esters. The diene preferentially is of the electron-rich type thus it should not bear an electron-withdrawing substituent. 

Equation 2.13), undergo slow but very clean regioselective cycloaddition reactions, under carefully controlled thermal conditions with both electron-poor and electron-rich dienophiles. 

Ethylene disulfonyl-1,3-butadiene (43) is an example of an outer-ring diene with a non-aromatic six-membered heterocyclic ring containing sulfur. It is prepared by thermolysis of sulfolenes in the presence of a basic catalyst. It is very reactive [43] and even though it is electron-deficient, it readily reacted with both electron-rich and electron-poor dienophiles (Equation 2.15). 

Sauer and Heldmann [97] recently reported an interesting application of ethynyltributyltin as an electron-rich dienophile in an inverse electron-demand Diels-Alder reaction with the electron-deficient triazine derivative 94. This method is interesting because the reaction is highly regioselective and the trialkylstannyl group is easily replaced by several groups under mild conditions, leading to substituted pyridines 95 (Scheme 2.41). 

The inverse electron demand Diels-Alder reaction has also been used to provide expedient access to unnatural 6-carboline alkaloids from 1,2,4-triazines, prepared by microwave-assisted MCR [92]. One-pot reaction of an acyl hydrazide-tethered indole 73, 1,2-diketone and ammonium acetate in acetic acid provided triazines 74 (see Sect. 3.2, Scheme 22), bearing an electron-rich dienophilic indole moiety (Scheme 31). By carrying out the... 

Halterman et al. reported that 5-aryl-5-phenylcyclopentadienes 23-25 reacted with dienophiles to favor the reactions on the anti side of the more electron rich aromatic system [19]. The orbital mixing rule failed to predict this selectivity, since orbital mixing is expected to take place mainly by mediation of the JtAr-HOMo of more electron rich aromatic system (Scheme 13). Destabilization due to the orbital phase environment or stabilization due to Cieplak effects can be responsible for the selectivity (See Sects. 2.1.2 and 2.1.3). 

Kahn and Hehre stated that the regiochemistry of Diels-Alder reactions of electron-rich dienes and electron-withdrawing dienophiles follows from matching the nucle-ophilicity of the dienes and the electrophilicity of the dienophiles, although it has... 

Kahn and Hehre straightforwardly extended this idea to the description of Jt-facial selectivity in Diels Alder reactions. They simply stated cycloaddition involving electron-rich dienes and electron-poor dienophiles should occur preferentially onto the diene face which is the more nucleophilic and onto the diene face which exhibits the greater electrophihcity (Scheme 40) [49],... 

Nakayama and coworkers reported that 3,4-di-tert-butylthiophene 1-oxide 114 is thermally stable but still an extremely reactive substrate. They reported that the Diels-Alder reactions of 114 with varieties of electron-deficient and electron-rich dienophiles took place exclusively at the syn-n-face of the diene with respect to the S=0 bond (Scheme 53) [62, 63]. 

The benzthiazole (62), an example of a stabilised 1-azabuta-1,3-diene, undergoes Inverse type Diels-Alder reactions with electron-rich dienophiles under extremely mild conditions. 

Esters of a-diazoalkylphosphonic acids (95) show considerable thermal stability but react with acids, dienophiles, and triphenylphosphine to give the expected products. With olefinic compounds in the presence of copper they give cyclopropane derivatives (96), but with no such compounds present vinylphosphonic esters are formed by 1,2-hydrogen shift, or, when this route is not available, products such as (97) or (98) are formed, resulting from insertion of a carbenoid intermediate into C—C or C—H bonds. The related phosphonyl (and phosphoryl) azides (99) add to electron-rich alkynes to give 1,2,3-triazoles, from which the phosphoryl group is readily removed by hydrolysis. 

Lewis acids such as zinc chloride, boron trifluoride, tin tetrachloride, aluminum chloride, methylaluminum dichloride, and diethylaluminum chloride catalyze Diels-Alder reactions.22 The catalytic effect is the result of coordination of the Lewis acid with the dienophile. The complexed dienophile is more electrophilic and more reactive toward electron-rich dienes. The mechanism of the addition is believed to be concerted and enhanced regio- and stereoselectivity is often observed.23... 

Pyrones are useful dienes, although they are not particularly reactive. The adducts have the potential for elimination of carbon dioxide, resulting in the formation of an aromatic ring. Pyrones react best with electron-rich dienophiles. Vinyl ethers are frequently used as dienophiles with pyrones. The regiochemical preference places the dienophile donor ortho to the pyrone carbonyl. 

Elimination of nitrogen from D-A adducts of certain heteroaromatic rings has been useful in syntheses of substituted aromatic compounds.315 Pyrazines, triazines, and tetrazines react with electron-rich dienophiles in inverse electron demand cycloadditions. The adducts then aromatize with loss of nitrogen and a dienophile substituent.316... 

Another combination of hetero-Diels-Alder reactions and a [3+2] cycloaddition of a nitroalkene was described by Avalos and coworkers [46]. Using the chiral substrate 4-134 derived from a sugar, the domino process can be performed as a three-component transformation using an electron-rich dienophile and an electron-poor... 

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