Organocatalytic multicomponent alpha-methylenation/Diels-Alder reactions: a versatile route to substituted cyclohexenecarbaldehyde derivatives

This article describes the design and optimization of an effective organocatalytic three-component domino alpha-methylenation/Diels-Alder reaction to produce vinyl-substituted cyclohexenecarboxaldehydes in a highly regioselective fashion. In these one-pot transformations, 2-formyl-1,3-butadienes (4) were prepared in situ from alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes and formalin and were subsequently trapped with a variety of buta-1,3-dienes. The outcomes of the reactions were dependent on the electronic properties of the dienes. 1-Vinylcyclohexenecarbaldehydes 6 were formed by use of acyclic electron-rich dienes, while the initially formed cycloadducts of 4 with cyclopentadiene underwent Cope rearrangements, leading to the formation of tetrahydro-3H-indene-5-carbaldehyde compounds 7. The mechanisms involved in these reactions were deduced from experimental findings. Furthermore, the method was also extended to one-pot domino methylenation/Diels-Alder reactions of dihydrofurans and dihydropyrans to yield spirocyclic lactols 22. In these reactions, the unstable intermediate hydroxyethyl and hydroxypropyl acroleins behaved as dienophiles, undergoing cycloaddition reactions with dienes with good yields and selectivities. The wide variety of functionalized 1-vinylcyclohex-3-enecarbaldehydes 6, 4-vinylcyclohex-1-enecarbaldehydes 7, and spiro lactols 22 generated through the use of these organocatalytic domino processes as a diversity-oriented synthesis provided useful intermediates for the construction of novel odorants.