An in-depth look at the effect of Lewis acid catalysts on Diels-Alder cycloadditions in ionic liquids

The present work explores in detail the Diels-Alder reaction between cyclopentadiene and a series of dienophiles, performed in an innovative medium such as an ionic liquid. The potential activation of different Lewis acid catalysts and their load effect when used in combination with this solvent have been explored, in order to settle the improvement on rates and selectivities.     

Design of chiral tin(IV) aryloxide as a mild Lewis acid catalyst for enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction

A novel Sn(IV) aryloxide Lewis acid has been designed and prepared from SnCl₄ and (S)-3,3′-bis(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-1,1′-bi-2-naphthol. The chiral Sn(IV) Lewis acid has been successfully applied to the enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction.     

An efficient synthesis of chiral isoquinuclidines by Diels-Alder reaction using Lewis acid catalyst

The Diels-Alder reaction of 1,2-dihydropyridine derivatives (1-phenoxycarbonyl-1,2-dihydropyridine 1 or 1-methoxycarbonyl-1,2-dihydropyridine 4) with N-acryloyl (1S)-2,10-camphorsultam (1S)-2 {or N-acryloyl (1R)-2,10-camphorsultam (1R)-2} in the presence of Lewis acid, such as titanium tetrachloride, zirconium tetrachloride, and hafnium tetrachloride afforded the endo-cycloaddition product, 2-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octane derivatives in good yields with excellent diastereoselectivity. The absolute stereochemistry assignment of the endo-cycloaddition product (1S)-5a starting from N-acryloyl (1S)-2,10-camphorsultam (1S)-2 has been established to be (1S,4R,7S) and the reaction mechanism was proposed.     

Catalytic asymmetric aza Diels-Alder reactions of hydrazones using a chiral zirconium catalyst

Catalytic asymmetric aza Diels-Alder reactions of acylhydrazones with Danishefsky’s dienes have been developed. A chiral zirconium complex derived from zirconium propoxide and 3,3′,6,6′-I₄BINOL was found to be effective in this reaction, and the desired optically active 2,3-dihydro-4-pyridone derivatives were obtained with high enantioselectivities. Asymmetric formal synthesis of a natural product, coniine, was conducted using this catalytic asymmetric reaction as a key step.     

The search for tolerant Lewis acid catalysts. Part 2: Enantiopure cycloalkyldialkylsilyl triflimide catalysts

A series of 2-aryl- and arylmethyl-3-dialkylphenylsilyl cycloalkanones have been prepared and resolved. The pure enantiomers were reduced to the corresponding cycloalkane derivatives. These were used for the in situ generation of enantiopure cycloalkylsilyl triflimides by protodesilylation with bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide. The association of a bulky leaving group with a silicon atom carrying large substituents was again shown to favour the complexation of silicon with carbonyl groups: all these trialkylsilyl triflimides showed a high catalytic activity for Diels-Alder reactions. Enantiomeric excesses up to 59% were observed. This is the highest enantioselectivity ever observed for a Diels-Alder reaction catalysed by a silicon Lewis acid.     

The highly enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction of 1,2-dihydropyridine using chiral cationic palladium-phosphinooxazolidine catalyst for the synthesis of chiral isoquinuclidines

The enantioselective Diels-Alder reactions of 1-phenoxycarbonyl-1,2-dihydropyridine with 1-alkylated acryloyl-pyrazolidin-3-ones using chiral cationic palladium-phosphinooxazolidine (Pd-POZ) catalyst afforded chiral isoquinuclidines with excellent enantioselectivity (up to 97% ee).     

Recyclable organotungsten Lewis acid and microwave assisted Diels-Alder reactions in water and in ionic liquids

The water-soluble, organotungsten Lewis acid, [OP(2-py)₃W(CO)(NO)₂](BF₄)₂ (1), was synthesized and characterized. A series of 1-catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions were investigated under conventional heating or microwave heating conditions. The cycloaddition reactions were efficiently conducted in either water or in an ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate. The ionic liquid acts as a powerful medium not only for rate- and selectivity enhancements but also for facilitating catalyst recycling. Dramatic rate acceleration via microwave flash heating as compared to thermal heating was observed.     

A sustainable procedure for highly enantioselective organocatalyzed Diels-Alder cycloadditions in homogeneous ionic liquid/water phase

The MacMillan iminium catalyst was investigated for asymmetric Diels-Alder cycloadditions in ionic liquid/H₂O homogeneous phase. Superior selectivity, product yield, and shorter reaction times were observed in comparison with classical organic solvents. Additional advantages are the easy synthetic procedure, the excellent recovery of products, and the recyclability of the whole system.     

A simple and general chiral silicon Lewis acid for asymmetric synthesis: highly enantioselective [3+2] acylhydrazone-enol ether cycloadditions

A highly diastereo- and enantioselective [3 + 2] acylhydrazone-enol ether cycloaddition mediated by a simple chiral silane Lewis acid is described. The reactions are highly practical, as demonstrated by a larger scale (5 g of the hydrazone) reaction in which the product was obtained after recrystallization in 93% yield and 99% ee. Evidence for a stepwise mechanism and a model for the asymmetric induction are presented, as well.     

Highly enantioselective formal aza-Diels-Alder reactions with acylhydrazones and Danishefsky's diene promoted by a silicon Lewis acid

Silicon Lewis acid 3 is effective for the promotion of highly enantioselective cycloaddition reactions of acylhydrazones with Danishefsky's diene (formal aza-Diels-Alder reactions). The reactions are conducted at ambient temperature for 15 min, and produce the products in good yield and with high levels of enantioselectivity. A remarkable solvent-dependent reversal in the sense of absolute stereochemical induction has been observed. The method has been applied to an efficient and stereoselective synthesis of the neurokinin 1 receptor antagonist casopitant.     

Lewis acid-catalyzed asymmetric hydroxymethylation of silicon enolates in aqueous media

Asymmetric hydroxymethylation of silicon enolates with formaldehyde in aqueous media has been achieved using praseodymium triflate and a chiral crown ether. Formaldehyde aqueous solution can be directly used for the reactions, and a water/THF mixture was found to be the best solvent system. This is the first example of catalytic asymmetric hydroxymethylation of silicon enolates.     

Lewis Acid-Catalyzed Diels-Alder Reactions: Reactivity Trends across the Periodic Table

The catalytic effect of various weakly interacting Lewis acids (LAs) across the periodic table, based on hydrogen (Group 1), pnictogen (Group 15), chalcogen (Group 16), and halogen (Group 17) bonds, on the Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction between 1,3-butadiene and methyl acrylate was studied quantum chemically by using relativistic density functional theory. Weakly interacting LAs accelerate the Diels-Alder reaction by lowering the reaction barrier up to 3 kcal mol⁻¹ compared to the uncatalyzed reaction. The reaction barriers systematically increase from halogen<hydrogen<chalcogen<pnictogen-bonded LAs, i. e., the latter have the least catalytic effect. Our detailed activation strain and Kohn-Sham molecular orbital analyses reveal that these LAs lower the Diels-Alder reaction barrier by increasing the asynchronicity of the reaction to relieve the otherwise destabilizing Pauli repulsion between the closed-shell filled π-orbitals of diene and dienophile. Notably, the reactivity can be further enhanced on going from a Period 3 to a Period 5 LA, as these species amplify the asynchronicity of the Diels-Alder reaction due to a stronger binding to the dienophile. These findings again demonstrate the generality of the Pauli repulsion-lowering catalysis concept.     

An efficient synthetic methodology of chiral isoquinuclidines by the enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction of 1,2-dihydropyridines using chiral cationic palladium-phosphinooxazolidine catalyst

High purity chiral isoquinuclidines (97% ee) were obtained from the enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction of 1-phenoxycarbonyl-1,2-dihydropyridine with 1-benzyl-2-acryloylpyrazolidin-3-one using chiral cationic palladium-phosphinooxazolidine (Pd-POZ) catalyst. The obtained DA adduct was easily converted to the chiral piperidine derivative bearing three stereogenetic centers in the structure.     

Mechanistic Studies on the Bidentate Lewis Acid Catalyzed Domino Inverse Electron-Demand Diels-Alder/Thiol Transfer Reaction

Recently, we presented a novel enantioselective multicomponent reaction of phthalazines, aldehydes and thiols accessing thioether-substituted 1,2-dihydronaphthalenes. Herein, a comprehensive investigation on the mechanism of this domino inverse electron-demand (IEDDA)/thiol transfer reaction is disclosed. In particular, the origin of the stereochemical outcome has been rationalized, as well as structural requirement of the thiol component for an efficient transfer step. Detailed NMR spectroscopy studies uncover a competing reaction pathway resulting in N,S-acetals. In addition, DFT computations illuminate the mechanism of the group transfer process and enable an explanation for the formation of the most dominant by-product. The insights allow a direct prediction of suitable substrates for the reaction and provide the basis for further developments of novel stereoselective domino reactions.     

Diels-Alder cycloadditions of 3-phenylamino-5-bromo-2-pyrone for the synthesis of constrained α-amino acid derivatives

3-Phenylamino-5-bromo-2-pyrone undergoes facile Diels-Alder cycloadditions with various electron deficient dienophiles to afford an array of functionally rich and stereochemically defined cycloadducts in good to excellent isolated yields. Due to the electron donacity of the amine group, it only proceeds in normal electron demand D-A cycloadditions. Subsequent ring openings with NaOMe provided constrained α-amino acid derivatives.     

A highly enantioselective chiral Schiff-base fluorescent sensor for mandelic acid

A chiral Schiff-base compound, 4-methyl-2,6-bis-[(2-hydroxy-1-phenylethylimino)methyl]phenol, is found to act as highly enantioselective fluorescent agent for α-hydroxycarboxylic acid, e.g., mandelic acid. It is observed that, within a certain concentration range, one enantiomer of the chiral acid can increase the fluorescence intensity of the Schiff-base compound 122-fold while the other enantiomer enhances the intensity only 42-fold. Such highly enantioselective responses towards the chiral acid make the unusual Schiff-base compound attractive as a fluorescent sensor for determining the enantiomeric composition of α-hydroxycarboxylic acids.     

Unusual deactivation in the asymmetric hydrogenation of itaconic acid

The formation of unusual Rh(III) substrate complexes from [Rh(DIPAMP)(MeOH)₂]BF₄ and itaconic acid has been detected which leads to the deactivation of the catalyst. The influence of different parameters on the formation of such complexes, namely substrate concentration, reaction time, temperature, acidic and basic additives, was investigated with different NMR methods. Two different Rh(III) substrate complexes are formed whose ratio is strongly dependent on substrate concentration and reaction time. The pH value of the solution shows a strong influence on the chemical shifts of the ³¹P NMR signals of such complexes. A catalyst-mediated esterification of itaconic acid in methanol was detected. Extended investigations provide detailed ¹H, ¹³C and ³¹P NMR data for the Rh(III) complexes and information about their stability in solution.     

Development of effective Lewis acids for the catalytic Diels-Alder reaction of α,β-unsaturated lactones with cyclopentadiene

We found that ‘Tf₂CH₂ + Me₃Al’ systems are effective catalytic systems for the DA reaction of less reactive α,β-unsaturated lactone derivatives, compared to α,β-unsaturated ester derivatives, with cyclopentadiene. Mononuclear aluminum methide complex, Tf₂CHAlMe₂, as an active species is formed in these catalytic systems. Effects of lactone ring-size on the reactivity and stereoselectivity were also examined. By expanding ring-size, reactivity of α,β-unsaturated lactones reduced but endo-selectivity notably increased.