Reactions of 4-(N-phenylsulfonyl)-2-alkoxy-1,4-benzoquinone monoimines 2-4 with electron-rich propenylbenzenes promoted by BF 3 yield 7-alkoxy-2-aryl-3-methyl-5-[(N-phenylsulfonyl)amino]-2,3-dihydrobenzofurans 5-7 nearly exclusively, whereas promotion of the reactions by Ti 4+ gives mixtures of the dihydrobenzofurans and their N-(phenylsulfonyl)-6-alkoxy-2-aryl-5-hydroxy-3-methyl-2,3-dihydroindole isomers 8-10, depending upon substituents present on the propenylbenzene. However, reactions promoted with excess Ti 4+ , as mixtures of TiCl 4 :Ti(OiPr) 4 , give the dihydroindoles as nearly the exclusive products. Evidence for a mechanism involving initial 5 + 2 cycloaddition of the Lewis acid-bound quinone monoimide with the propenylbenzene is found in reactions of styrenes 1f/g with monoimide 3 in which 7-aryl-3-hydroxy-6-methylbicyclo[3.2.1]oct-3-ene-2,8-diones 33 (5 + 2 adducts) are isolated. These reactions have been applied to stereoselective syntheses of pterocarpans bearing N-phenylsulfonyl groups, azapterocarpans and diazapterocarpans. In addition, DDQ oxidation of derivatives of several of the 2-aryl-2,3-dihydroindoles afford the corresponding 2-arylindoles in good yield. Finally, the experimental details of a general synthetic approach to 7-alkoxy-benzofuranoid neolignans, including (()-licarin B and eupomatenoids-1 and -12 are reported.
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