Fulvenes, Diels-Alder cycloaddition

Hong and coworkers have investigated the cycloaddition chemistry of fulvenes with a wide variety of alkenes and alkynes in great detail [191]. As one example, the reaction of 6,6-dimethylfulvene with benzoquinone is shown in Scheme 6.92. Under microwave conditions in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at 120 °C, an unusual hetero-[2+3] adduct was formed in 60% yield, the structure of which was determined by X-ray crystallography. The adduct is a structural analogue of the natural products aplysin and pannellin and differs completely from the reported thermal (benzene, 80 °C) Diels-Alder cycloaddition product of the fulvene and benzoquinone (Scheme 6.92) [191]. 

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

Scheme6.241 Azadiene Diels—Alder cycloaddition of fulvenes.

A general hetero-Diels-Alder cycloaddition of fulvenes with azadienes to furnish tetrahydro-[l]pyrindines has been described by Hong and coworkers (Scheme 6.241 see also Scheme 6.92) [424]. A solution of the azadiene and fulvene (1.2 equivalents) precursors in chlorobenzene was heated under open-vessel microwave irradiation for 30 min at 125 °C to provide the target compounds in excellent yields and with exclusive regio- and diastereoselectivity. Performing the reactions under conventional conditions or under microwave irradiation in different solvents provided significantly reduced yields. 

The opportunity to conduct a diyl trapping reaction depends upon the availability of bicyclic azo compounds to serve as the diyl precursor. A basic approach to these systems consists of fulvene formation [5], Diels-Alder cycloaddition, selective saturation of the A-5,6 pi bond, and conversion of the biscarbamate to the diazene linkage,[6] as depicted in Fig. (3). 

Diazene 19 was synthesized in the manner portrayed below. Thus, treatment of anhydride 20 with sodium borohydride selectively reduces one carbonyl to a methylene unit. Reduction of the resulting lactone with DIBAL followed by a Wittig reaction and oxidation with PCC afforded aldehyde 22. When treated with cyclopentadiene in the presence of diethylamine in methanol, 22 undergoes a smooth and efficient conversion to fulvene 23. Diels-Alder cycloaddition to the azodicarboxylate 24 proceeded rapidly, a characteristic of reactions with this electron deficient chlorinated dienophile [8]. Selective reduction of the endocyclic n bond using diimide generated in situ, followed by the electrochemical reductive cleavage of the biscarbamate led to diazene 19 [6]. 

Hong and coworkers [18] also reported an azadiene Diels-Alder cycloaddition involving fulvenes (Scheme 7.17). Pentafulvenes 67 was reacted with A/ -sulfonyl-l-aza-l,3-butadiene 68 to give the tetrahydro-[l]pyridine system 69 efficiently. The reactions provided 69 in moderate yields at room temperature the yields could be improved by high-pressure reactions and microwave conditions. Formally, this reaction involves a regio- and diastereoselective inverse electron-demand Diels-Alder reaction. 

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). 

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. 

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. 

Thiophene 1,1-dioxide did not undergo cycloaddition with electron-deficient dienophiles. In most of the cases the dihydrobenzothiophene derivative 109 was obtained as the major product. This shows that self-dimerization is faster than cycloaddition with a different molecule. In the case of dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (DMAD) and 4-phenyl-3//-l,2,4-triazole-3,5(4//)-dione (PTAD), the Diels-Alder adducts 111 and 112 of 109 were obtained <1997JA9077>. However, cyclopentadiene gave the Diels-Alder adduct 113 with thiophene 1,1-dioxide. The DMAD adduct 111 on thermolysis undergoes a retro-Diels-Alder reaction to give dimethyl phthalate and thiophene 1,1-dioxide. Azulene was isolated in the thermolysis of 108 in the presence of 6-(dimethylamino)-fulvene this was the result of a [4-1-6] cycloaddition of the thiophene 1,1-dioxide formed in the reaction followed by elimination of SO2 and dimethylamine (Scheme 28) <1999BCJ1919>. 

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]. 

Interestingly, the reaction of dimethyl fulvene (R = Me) with 2//-azirine 819 in an ultrasonic bath (neat) yielded the alkylation product 825. The stmcture of 825 was unambiguously assigned by single crystal X-ray structure. A possible mechanism to account for the formation of 825 involves an initial [4-1-2] cycloaddition followed by a subsequent rearrangement of the initially formed Diels-Alder cycloadduct 824 (Scheme 204). 

The thermal and photochemical [4 + 2] cycloadditions of o-quinones with olefinic and acetylenic dienophiles have been extensively reviewed4,5,200 and include their 4tt heterodiene Diels-Alder reactions with olefins,201-204 vinyl ethers,205 enamines,206 selected dienes,207-209 dipheny-lketenimines,210 ketenes,209,210 fulvenes,211 and selected heterocycles including furan,207-209,212 benzofuran,209,212,215 indoles,213 azepines,214 and 1,2-diazepines.214 The tetrahalo-substituted o-quinones, tetrachloro- and tetrabromo-o-quinone, generally participate in heterodiene [4 + 2] cycloadditions at an increased rate over the unsubstituted systems and generally provide higher overall yields of the Diels-Alder products.4,5 With simple olefins, the dienophile geometry is maintained in the course of the thermal [4 4- 2] cycloadditions [Eq. (52)],203,204... 

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