Fulvene, 6- cycloaddition reactions

Griesbeck, A.G., Fulvene cycloaddition reactions in water influence on rate and selectivity. Tetrahedron Lett, 1988,29,3477-80. 

The unconventional structure of fulvenes with a unique C=C bond conjugation leads to unusual cycloaddition reactions with other unsaturated systems. For example, alkenylcarbene complexes react with fulvenes leading to indanone or indene derivatives which can be considered as derived from a [6S+3C] cycloaddition process [118] (Scheme 72). The reaction pathway is well explained by an initial 1,2-addition of the fulvene to the carbene carbon followed by [1,2]-Cr(CO)5-promoted cyclisation. 

The study of the cycloaddition behavior of l,l-dichloro-2-neopentylsilene, C Si =CHCH2Bu (2) [3], reveals the high polarity of the Si=C bond and a strong electrophilicity. The [4+2] cycloaddition reactions with anthracene (3), cyclopentadiene (4) and fulvenes (5) proceed as expected surprising, however, the Diels-Alder reactions with dienes are of lower activity, like naphthalene (6) and furans (7). 

Scheme 6.92 Thermal versus microwave-assisted Diels-Alder cycloaddition reactions of fulvenes with benzoquinones.

These phenomena can be illustrated by the cycloaddition reactions of fulvenes with electron-deficient a-pyrones. In general, the Diels-Alder reactions of electron-deficient dienes such as 458 with 6-alkyl substituted fulvenes favor addition across one of the endocyclic... 

Niggli and Neuenschwander294 studied the reaction of fulvene (461) with cyclopen-tadiene. The main product fraction consisted of three 1 1 adducts, as illustrated in equation 138. Diels-Alder Adducts 462 and 463 resulted from attack of cyclopentadiene at the endocyclic and exocyclic double bonds of fulvene, respectively. The formation of 464 was rationalized by a [6 + 4] cycloaddition reaction followed by two [1,5] hydrogen shifts. It was stated that due to the absence of electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups on both triene and diene, fulvene may have reacted via its HOMO as well as its LUMO. 

Liu and colleagues295,296 studied the cycloaddition reactions between electron-deficient 8,8-disubstituted heptafulvenes 466 and electron-rich 6,6-disubstituted fulvenes. The substituted heptafulvene reacted as the trienophile in this case. Only when 6,6-dimethylfulvene (465) and heptafulvenes 466a-b were used as the triene and trienophiles, respectively,... 

Nair and coworkers have described the [8 + 2] cycloaddition reactions of 2H-cyclohep-ta[fr]furan-2-ones such as 521 in several reports311. The reactions of 521 with alkenes yield azulene derivatives upon extrusion of carbon dioxide. Table 30 summarizes the results of the reactions between 521 and some 6,6-disubstituted fulvenes 522 (equation 151)311b. In the case of 6,6-dialkyl fulvenes 522a-c, the [8 + 2] cycloadducts 523 were the major adducts obtained, the Diels-Alder adducts 524 only being formed in trace amounts. 

Kato et al. (119) explored reactions of fulvenes with a variety of mesoionic heterocycles. Unfortunately, reactions of miinchnone 38 with several fulvenes afforded complex mixtures in each case, and no identifiable products were reported, although Friedrichsen and co-workers (120-122) previously reported the reaction between mtinchnones and fulvenes to give cycloadducts. Kato et al. (123) also studied the cycloaddition reactions of tropone with several mesoionic heterocycles. Despite heroic efforts, the reaction of tropone with miinchnone 38 was complex and could not be unraveled. However, as described later, the reaction of tropone with isomtlnchnones was successful. Wu et al. (124) effected the cycloaddition between a miinchnone and fullerene-60 (Ceo) to give the corresponding dihydropyrrole in excellent yield. 

The cobalt(I)-catalysed 6 + 2-cycloadditions of cyclooctatetraene with monosubsti-tuted alkynes produced monosubstituted bicyclo[4.2.2]deca-2,4,7,8-tetraenes in good yields.185 The 6 + 3-cycloaddition of fulvenes (145) with 3-oxidopyrylium betaines (144) formed 5-8 fused oxa-bridged cyclooctanoids (146,147), which can be manipulated by cycloaddition reactions to produce key intermediates (148,149) for the synthesis of fused cyclooctanoid natural products e.g. lancifodilactones (Scheme 38).186,187... 

They react easily with electrophiles and add nucleophiles at C-6. In cycloaddition reactions they may react as 2jt, 4n, or 6 i compounds. According to frontier orbital considerations they readily react with electron-deficient dienophiles (e.g., silenes) in Diels-Alder reactions this is due to the strong interaction between the fulvene HOMO and dienophile LUMO [9]. Although the n and n orbitals of silenes are generally 1-2.5 eV higher in energy than is the case for the alkene congeners [10] a normal [4+2] cycloaddition behaviour for 3 is observed in earlier works [3-5]. 

Scheme 2. Cycloaddition reactions of silene 3 with fulvene 8...

As the focus of this chapter is on the synthetic utility of the rDA reaction, an overview of mechanism is beyond the scope of this review however, the subject has beoi reviewed previously. Structural and medium effects on the rate of the rDA reaction are of prime importance to their synthetic utility, and therefore warrant discussion here. A study of steric effects cm the rate of cycloreversicHi was the focus of early work by Bachmann and later by Vaughan. The effect of both diene and dioiophile substituticHi on Ae rate of the rDA reaction in anthracene cycloadducts has been reported in a study employing 45 different adducts. If both cycloaddition and cycloreversion processes are fast on the time scde of a given experiment, reversibility in the DA reaction is observed. Reversible cycloaddition reactions involving anthracenes, furans, fulvenes and cyclopentadienes are known. Herndon has shown that the well-known exception to the endo rule in tiie DA reaction of furan with maleic anhydride (equation 2) occurs not because exo addition is faster than endo addition (it is not), but because cycloreversion of the endo adduct is about 10 000 times faster than that of the exo adduct. ... 

---