Maleic anhydride polycycles synthesis

The total synthesis of complicated polycyclic closed-shell cage compounds represents one of the top achievements of modern synthesis. Progress in this area is mainly due to the ingenious use of the Diels-Alder cycloaddition, as is illustrated in the synthesis of basketene 357 (Scheme 2.123). " In this case the Diels-Alder reaction between diene 358 (the valent isomer form of cyclooctate-traene) and maleic anhydride leads in one step to the construction of the tricyclic structure 359 in quantitative yield. Subsequent [2 -I- 2] cycloaddition (see below) leads to product 360, which has the required structure but additional substituents. Saponification and oxidative decarboxylation of 360 gives basketene 357. 

The heterohelicenes can be used for the synthesis of a new class of polycyclic aromatic compounds, similar to coronene or corannulene, for which Wynberg suggests the name heterocirculenes. Thus the hetero-hexahelicene (446) gives (453) in 95% yield upon heating for several minutes at 140 ° with an AlCls-NaCl melt, and upon reaction with maleic anhydride and chloranil (453) yields (454). Decarboxylation of the latter or the corresponding acid with copper powder in quinoline furnishes the hetero-circulene (455). ... 

The V-Mo-O oxides are well-known industrial catalysts for the synthesis of acrylic acid from acrolein and maleic anhydride from benzene more recently, V-P-0 systems are being utilized for maleic anhydride production from -butane. The V20s/Ti02 combination was employed for phthalic acid production from o-xylene. V-Fe-O catalyzes oxidation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to dicarboxylic acids and quinones. Methyl formate is produced by the oxidation of methanol over V-Ti-0 catalysts [58]. For many of these processes, it has been experimentally proved that the catalytic reaction follows a Mars-van Krevelen mechanism. The surface coverage with active oxygen 0 in the steady state of the redox reaction following Mars-van Krevelen mechanism is given by... 

Diels-Alder cycloaddition provides one of the most useful methods for the construction of polycyclic aromatic ring systems. With the use of maleic anhydride as dienophile, two additional carbon atoms may be fused to the bay region sites of some polycyclic arylenes to generate additional rings. For example, the first step in the synthesis of benzo[ghi]perylene 6 involves a Diels-Alder cycloaddition between perylene and maleic anhydride (Scheme 3.5) [19]. Aryne intermediates generated in situ also serve as dienophiles for Diels-Alder cycloadditions for example, reaction of 1,5-naphthadiyne (generated in situ from 2,6-dibromo-l,5-bis[(p-tolylsulfonyl)oxy] naphthalene with 2-methylisoindole forms an adduct which upon oxidation with m-chloroperbenzoic acid affords dibenzo[fe,k]chrysene 7 (Scheme 3.5) [20]. 

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