Rhodium(I)-catalyzed [4+2+2] cycloadditions of 1,3-dienes, alkenes, and alkynes for the synthesis of cyclooctadienes

The first [4+2+2] cycloadditions involving terminal alkynes and diene-enes, including a fully intramolecular example, are reported resulting in the formation of cyclooctadienes using [RhCl(CO)2]2 (5 mol %) treated with AgSbF6 (10 mol %) as a precatalyst. The reaction is general for a variety of terminal alkynes, as well as variously substituted diene-enes (yields up to 88%).     

Gold(I)-catalyzed intramolecular [4+2] cycloadditions of arylalkynes or 1,3-enynes with alkenes: scope and mechanism

The cyclizations of enynes substituted at the alkyne gives products of formal [4+2] cyclization with Au(I) catalysts. 1,8-Dien-3-ynes cyclize by a 5-exo-dig pathway to form hydrindanes. 1,6-Enynes with an aryl ring at the alkyne give 2,3,9,9a-tetrahydro-1H-cyclopenta[b]naphthalenes by a 5-exo-dig cyclization followed by a Friedel-Crafts-type ring expansion. A 6-endo-dig cyclization is also observed in some cases as a minor process, although in a few cases, this is the major cyclization pathway. In addition to cationic gold complexes bearing bulky biphenyl phosphines, a gold complex with tris(2,6-di-tert-butylphenyl)phosphite is exceptionally reactive as a catalyst for this reaction. This cyclization can also be carried out very efficiently with heating under microwave irradiation. DFT calculations support a stepwise mechanism for the cycloaddition by the initial formation of an anti-cyclopropyl gold(I)-carbene, followed by its opening to form a carbocation stabilized by a pi interaction with the aryl ring, which undergoes a Friedel-Crafts-type reaction.     

Rhodium(I)-catalyzed [2 + 2 + 2] cycloadditions of ynamides in the synthesis of amide-substituted chiral biaryls

Rhodium(I)-catalyzed [2 + 2 + 2] cycloadditions of sterically encumbered aryl-substituted ynamides with various diynes are described here. These cycloadditions provide the synthesis of an array of new chiral amide-substituted biaryls that can be useful in future chiral ligand designs.     

Rhodium(I)-catalyzed intramolecular pauson-khand-type [2 + 2 + 1] cycloaddition of allenenes

[reaction: see text] The novel [RhCl(CO)(2)](2)-catalyzed [2 + 2 + 1] cycloaddition of allenenes leading to the bicyclo[4.3.0]non-1(9)-en-8-one as well as the bicyclo[5.3.0]dec-1(10)-en-9-one skeletons has been developed. This method also provides a new procedure for the construction of the bicyclo[4.3.0]non-1(9)-en-8-one skeleton having an alkyl appendage at the ring juncture, which was hardly attained in a satisfactory yield by the Pauson-Khand reaction of the corresponding enynes.     

(Triphenyl phosphite)gold(I)-catalyzed intermolecular hydroamination of alkenes and 1,3-dienes

Intermolecular addition of different sulfonamides to alkenes and conjugated dienes can be carried out using a low loading of (triphenyl phosphite)gold(I) chloride and silver triflate as a catalytic mixture. The reaction can be performed under conventional thermal or microwave conditions and at rt in the case of dienes. Terminal alkenes undergo regioselective hydroamination at the internal carbon atom and dienes at the less substituted double bond.     

First cobalt(I)-catalyzed [6 + 2] cycloadditions of cycloheptatriene with alkynes

[reaction: see text] The CoI2(dppe)/Zn/ZnI2 system effectively catalyzes the [6 + 2] cycloaddition of cycloheptatriene with terminal alkynes to afford 7-alkyl-bicyclo[4.2.1]nona-2,4,7-trienes in fair to excellent yields. The catalyst proved to be tolerant toward functional groups such as ketone, sulfone, ester, ketal, ether, alcohol, imide, and nitrile. The enantioselective cycloaddition of CHT and phenylacetylene with BINOL phosphoramidite ligand 4 afforded the cycloadduct 3a (R = Ph) in 91% yield and 74% ee.     

2 + 4] and [4 + 2] cycloadditions of o-thioquinones with 1,3-dienes: a computational study

Cycloadditions of o-thioquinones (o-TQs) with 1,3-dienes could proceed via either a [2 + 4] or a [4 + 2] mechanism. Under kinetic control and with acyclic dienes the reaction affords the spiro cycloadducts 5deriving from the [2 + 4] path as the main products. Under thermodynamic control, or with cyclic dienes, the o-TQs behave as heterodienes to give the benzoxathiin derivatives 4, in most cases with complete regioselectivity. In the present computational study, DFT calculations were performed in order to achieve a deep understanding of both [2 + 4] and [4 + 2] paths. The reactions of three o-TQs with six 1,3-dienes were thoroughly investigated at the B3LYP/TZVP//B3LYP6-31G level, and the two reaction mechanisms were then compared, evidencing that [2 + 4] cycloadditions are kinetically favored, strongly asynchronous, or even unconcerted, while [4 + 2] reactions are thermodynamically favored, quite asynchronous, but undoubtedly concerted. Moreover, the observed regioselectivity was rationalized by mean of the FMO theory and by comparison of the activation energies for different pathways.     

Rhodium catalysed [2+2+2] cycloadditions of acetylenes

Wilkinson's catalyst RhCl(PPh₃)₃ is an effective catalyst (0.5 – 2 mole %) for the rapid intermolecular trimerisation of 1,6-heptadiynes with monoacetylenes under mild conditions.     

Rhodium(I)-Catalyzed Three-Component [4+2+1] Cycloaddition of Two Vinylallenes and CO

Transition metal-catalyzed [4+2+1] reactions of dienes (or diene derivatives such as vinylallenes), alkynes/alkenes, and CO (or carbenes) are expected to be the most straightforward approach to synthesize challenging seven-membered ring compounds, but so far only limited successes have been realized. Here, an unexpected three-component [4+2+1] reaction between two vinylallenes and CO was discovered to give highly functionalized tropone derivatives under mild conditions, where one vinylallene acts as a C₄ synthon, the other vinylallene as a C₂ synthon, and CO as a C₁ synthon. It was proposed that this reaction occurred via oxidative cyclization of the diene part of one vinylallene molecule, followed by insertion of the terminal alkene part of the allene moiety in another vinylallene, into the Rh−C bond of five-membered rhodacycle. Then, CO insertion and reductive elimination gave the [4+2+1] cycloadduct. Further experimental exploration of why ene/yne-vinylallenes and CO gave monocyclic tropone derivatives instead of 6/7-bicyclic ring products were reported here.     

Transition metal-catalyzed [4 + 2 + 2] cycloadditions of bicyclo[2.2.1]hepta-2,5-dienes (norbornadienes) and bicyclo[2.2.2]octa-2,5-dienes

The transition-metal-catalyzed [4 + 2 + 2] cycloadditions of norbornadienes, bicyclo[2.2.2]octa-2,5-diene, and benzobarrelene with 1,3-butadienes proceed in excellent yields using cobalt-based catalytic systems. Two key distinctions between these [4 + 2 + 2] cycloadditions and the corresponding transition-metal-catalyzed [2 + 2 +2] reactions of norbornadiene are the requirement of a bimetal catalytic system with a bisphosphine ligand for the former and exclusive regioselectivity in the [4 + 2 + 2] reaction of 2-substituted norbornadienes to produce 1-substituted adducts. These distinctions may indicate two distinct mechanisms for the [4 + 2 + 2] and [2 + 2 + 2] reactions.     

Cobalt(I)-catalyzed [6+2] cycloadditions of cyclooctatetra(tri)ene with alkynes

The cobalt-catalyzed [6+2] cycloaddition of cyclooctatetraene 1 with alkynes 3 affords monosubstituted bicyclo[4.2.2]deca-2,4,7,9-tetraenes 4 in fair to good yields. Due to the valence tautomerism, 1,3,5-cyclooctatriene 2, in equilibrium with bicyclo[4.2.0]octa-2,4-diene A, and alkynes 3 are converted to 10 and 11 according to [6+2] and [4+2] cycloadditions, respectively.     

Intramolecular [2 + 2]cycloadditions of dialkylketenes with alkenes. Regiochemistry of intramolecular [2+2]cycloadditions of ketenes with alkenes

Unsaturated dialkylketenes 7a, 7b and 7c undergo intramolecular [2 + 2]cycloadditions to give 8a (45%), 9b (23%) and 9c (45%). Intramolecular cycloadditions of dialkylketenes give higher yields than intramolecular cycloadditions of monoalkylketenes, even though dialkylketenes are less reactive than monoalkylketenes. An intramolecular competition experiment with ketene 17 establishes that trans-alkenes are approximately 33 times more reactive than cis-alkenes in intramolecular cycloadditions. Ketene 36 furnishes 22% of the expected bicyclo[3.2.0]heptanone 37 and 28% of bicyclo[3.1.1]heptanone 38.     

Rhodium(I)-catalyzed regioselective additions of chloroformates to 1,2-dienes

Rhodium phosphine complexes catalyze addition of chloroformates to terminal allenes to afford β-chloro-β,γ-unsaturated esters.     

Ruthenium-catalyzed [2+2] cycloadditions of bicyclic alkenes and ynamides

Ruthenium-catalyzed [2+2] cycloadditions between bicyclic alkenes and ynamides were investigated. The ynamide moiety was found to be compatible with the ruthenium-catalyzed cycloaddition conditions giving the corresponding cyclobutene cycloadducts in moderate to good yields (up to 97%). Diastereoselective cycloaddition utilizing chiral cyclic ynamides were also examined and a low to moderate level of asymmetric induction was observed.     

Intramolecular [4 + 2] cycloadditions of 1,3-enynes or arylalkynes with alkenes with highly reactive cationic phosphine Au(I) complexes

New Au(I) complexes with bulky, biphenyl phosphines are the most reactive catalysts for the cyclizations of enynes. 1,6-Enynes with an aryl ring at the alkyne give 2,3,9,9a-tetrahydro-1H-cyclopenta[b]naphthalenes by a 5-exo-dig cyclization followed by a Nazarov-type ring expansion. 1,8-Dien-3-ynes also cyclize by a 5-exo-dig pathway to form hydrindanes.     

Asymmetric [4+2] cycloadditions employing 1,3-dienes derived from (R)-4-t-butyldimethyl-silyloxy-2-cyclohexen-1-one

1,3-Dienes derived from (R)-4-t-butyldimethylsilyloxy-2-cyclohexen-1-one react with activated dienophiles to form predominately (or sometimes exclusively) syn/endo products. These controlled [4+2] cycloadditions increase the asymmetric complexity from one asymmetric center in the starting material to five asymmetric centers in the products in a single step, and provide a powerful approach for the asymmetric synthesis of compounds containing the bicyclo[2.2.2]octanone carbon skeleton.