Substituted Diels-Alder reactions

Figure 15.6 FMO rationalizes the stereochemistry of substituted Diels-Alder reactions...

In order to demonstrate the reflection of this polarization in the observed regioselectivity, let us analyze the simple case of substituted Diels-Alder reaction where the diene component bears the donor, and the dienophile component the acceptor substitution. The formation of the preferred reaction product, which is in this case the "ortho" isomer, can be simply rationalized on the basis of a scheme, visualizing the magnitude of the overlap of the HOMO-LUMO orbitals for both alternative possibilities of the attack. It is, namely, possible to demonstrate that from the point of view of the magnitude of the overlap, and consequently also of the ease of the reaction, it is generally more favorable for reaction to proceed along such reaction path where the interaction and the formation of the new bonds takes place by the combination of the atoms vtith the large and the pair of the atoms with the small frontier density, than in the opposite case [43,45]. 

Despite this overwhelming body of evidence, two-step mechanisms have been suggested for the Diels-Alder reaction, probably inspired by special cases, where highly substituted dienes and/or dienophiles have been found to react through zwitterionic or biradicalintermediates (Scheme 1.2). 

Breslow studied the dimerisation of cyclopentadiene and the reaction between substituted maleimides and 9-(hydroxymethyl)anthracene in alcohol-water mixtures. He successfully correlated the rate constant with the solubility of the starting materials for each Diels-Alder reaction. From these relations he estimated the change in solvent accessible surface between initial state and activated complex " . Again, Breslow completely neglects hydrogen bonding interactions, but since he only studied alcohol-water mixtures, the enforced hydrophobic interactions will dominate the behaviour. Recently, also Diels-Alder reactions in dilute salt solutions in aqueous ethanol have been studied and minor rate increases have been observed Lubineau has demonstrated that addition of sugars can induce an extra acceleration of the aqueous Diels-Alder reaction . Also the effect of surfactants on Diels-Alder reactions has been studied. This topic will be extensively reviewed in Chapter 4. 

The fact that good correlations are observed with d" rather than with a, is indicative of a strong infiuence of the substituent through a direct resonance interaction with a positive charge in the reacting system. The p-values are positive, which is expected for substituted dienophiles in a normal electron demand Diels-Alder reaction. Furthermore, the p-values do not exceed unity and are not significantly different from literature values reported for the uncatalysed reaction. It is tempting to... 

In Chapter 2 the Diels-Alder reaction between substituted 3-phenyl-l-(2-pyridyl)-2-propene-l-ones (3.8a-g) and cyclopentadiene (3.9) was described. It was demonstrated that Lewis-acid catalysis of this reaction can lead to impressive accelerations, particularly in aqueous media. In this chapter the effects of ligands attached to the catalyst are described. Ligand effects on the kinetics of the Diels-Alder reaction can be separated into influences on the equilibrium constant for binding of the dienoplule to the catalyst (K ) as well as influences on the rate constant for reaction of the complex with cyclopentadiene (kc-ad (Scheme 3.5). Also the influence of ligands on the endo-exo selectivity are examined. Finally, and perhaps most interestingly, studies aimed at enantioselective catalysis are presented, resulting in the first example of enantioselective Lewis-acid catalysis of an organic transformation in water. 

The merits of (enantioselective) Lewis-acid catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions in aqueous solution have been highlighted in Chapters 2 and 3. Both chapters focused on the Diels-Alder reaction of substituted 3-phenyl-1-(2-pyr idyl)-2-prop ene-1-one dienophiles. In this chapter the scope of Lewis-acid catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions in water is investigated. Some literature claims in this area are critically examined and requirements for ejfective Lewis-acid catalysis are formulated. Finally an attempt is made to extend the scope of Lewis-acid catalysis in water by making use of a strongly coordinating auxiliary. 

Finally, in Chapter 5, micellar catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions is discussed. In view of the nonpolar nature of most Diels-Alder reactants, efficient micellar catalysis of this reaction was anticipated However, this has not been observed. The results for the Diels-Alder reaction between cyclopentadiene and substituted 3-phenyl-l-(2-pyridyl)-2-propene-l-one dienophiles, discussed in... 

Chapter 2 describes the results of the first detailed study of Lewis-acid catalysis of a Diels-Alder reaction in water. Substituted 3-phenyl-l-(2-pyridyl)-2-propen-l-one dienophiles (la-gin Scheme 1) were found to coordinate to Co, Cu" and Zn ions in aqueous solution. This process forms... 

Most of the synthetic reactions leading to substituted carbon compounds can be re> versed. Reiro-a do or /le/fo-Diels-Alder reactions, for example, are frequently used in the de-gradative fragmentation of complex molecules to give simpler fragments. In synthesis, such... 

Indoles are usually constructed from aromatic nitrogen compounds by formation of the pyrrole ring as has been the case for all of the synthetic methods discussed in the preceding chapters. Recently, methods for construction of the carbocyclic ring from pyrrole derivatives have received more attention. Scheme 8.1 illustrates some of the potential disconnections. In paths a and b, the syntheses involve construction of a mono-substituted pyrrole with a substituent at C2 or C3 which is capable of cyclization, usually by electrophilic substitution. Paths c and d involve Diels-Alder reactions of 2- or 3-vinyl-pyrroles. While such reactions lead to tetrahydro or dihydroindoles (the latter from acetylenic dienophiles) the adducts can be readily aromatized. Path e represents a category Iley cyclization based on 2 -I- 4 cycloadditions of pyrrole-2,3-quinodimcthane intermediates. 

Most examples of Diels-Alder reactions reported for both 2-vinyl and 3-vinylindoles involve typical electrophilic dienophiles such as benzoquinone, A"-phenylmaleimide and dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (see Table 16.1). T hese symmetrical dienophiles raise no issues of rcgiosclectivity. While there arc fewer examples of use of mono-substituted dienophiles, they appear to react... 

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