Maleic anhydride, cycloaddition benzo thiophene

Benzo[Z)]furans and indoles do not take part in Diels-Alder reactions but 2-vinyl-benzo[Z)]furan and 2- and 3-vinylindoles give adducts involving the exocyclic double bond. In contrast, the benzo[c]-fused heterocycles function as highly reactive dienes in [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions. Thus benzo[c]furan, isoindole (benzo[c]pyrrole) and benzo[c]thiophene all yield Diels-Alder adducts (137) with maleic anhydride. Adducts of this type are used to characterize these unstable molecules and in a similar way benzo[c]selenophene, which polymerizes on attempted isolation, was characterized by formation of an adduct with tetracyanoethylene (76JA867). 

The cycloaddition of a variety of sulfur heterocycles to alkenes has also been reported. Dibromomaleic anhydride undergoes [ 2 + 2] cycloaddition to thiophen295 and to benzo[b]thiophen.296 The photoaddition of benzo-[(>]thiophen 1,1-dioxides to alkenes also affords cyclobutane derivatives.297 Of particular interest is the addition of 3-acetoxybenzo[6]thiophen (350) to cyclohexene to give the adduct (351), which on treatment with base, undergoes a retro-aldol ring opening to benzo[6]thiepinone (352).298 A mixture of stereoisomeric cyclobutane derivatives were obtained on irradiation of 2,6-diphenyl-4//-thiopyran-4-one 1,1-dioxide in cyclohexene.299 The [ 2 + 2] cycloaddition of sulfolen to maleic anhydride and to maleimide has been reported.300... 

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