Stereospecificity three-component systems

The uncatalyzed Diels-Alder reaction is well known to be highly stereospecific, preferentially occurring via syn addition to both the diene and dienophilic components. Stereochemical studies of the cation radical Diels-Alder reaction have confirmed an analogous stereospecificity in two distinctly different systems. The initial study was carried out using the cycloaddition of the three geometric isomers of 2,4-hexadiene as dienophilic components and 1,3-cyclohexadiene as the diene component [39]. Each of the three isomers of the acyclic diene was found to add stereo-specifically to cyclohexadiene. In a more recent study, the cis and trans isomers of 1,2-diaryloxyethenes were found to add stereospecifically to 1,3-cyclopentadiene (Scheme 17) and also to 2,3-dimethyl-l,3-butadiene [46]. 

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