Sigmatropic rearrangements constitute an important group of pericyclic reactions. In contrast to cycloaddition reactions, examples of catalytic variants of electrocyclic reactions and sigmatropic rearrangements are still scarce in the chemical literature. Herein, we report the first organocatalytic Cope rearrangement of in situgenerated divinylcyclopropanes. The reactive motif is generated by condensation of 4-(2-vinylcyclopropyl)but-2-enal derivatives and a secondary amine catalyst to form a transient dienamine. The cycloheptadiene products can be obtained in high yield and excellent diastereoselectivity. Importantly, the reaction was demonstrated to be stereospecific, proceeds under mild conditions, and shows broad functional group tolerance.Scheme 1: Organocatalytic Claisen rearrangement by activation with urea derivatives (top). First organocatalytic Cope rearrangement by iminium activation (center). Planned transformation of vinyl-substituted cyclopropane but-2-enals to cycloheptadienals (bottom). , RSC Adv. 2012, 2, 5941-5943. Scheme 2. Conversion of an enantiopure 4-(2-vinylcyclopropyl)but-2-enal.
Scheme 3. Conversion of ester 5p to lactone 7.Abstract: Pericyclic reactions represent an effective transformation in organic synthesis to generate complexity. However, this reaction class is seldomly presented in the context of organocatalysis. Herein, we present the first organocatalytic Cope rearrangement of in situ-generated divinylcyclopropanes. The reactive functionality is built up by condensation of 4-(2-vinylcyclopropyl)but-2-enal and secondary amine catalysts. The resulting cycloheptadienes were obtained in high yield and excellent diastereoselectivity while the reaction is stereospecific, proceeds under mild conditions, and shows broad functional group tolerance.
Experimental Procedures
General Working MethodsThe analytical data was obtained with the help of the following equipment. 1 H and 13 C NMR spectra were acquired on a JEOL ECX 400 (400 MHz), JEOL ECP 500 (500 MHz), Bruker Avance 500 (500 MHz), Varian Inova 600 (600 MHz) and a Bruker Avance 700 (700 MHz) in CDCl3 as solvent. The chemical shifts were reported relative to CDCl3 (δ = 1 H: 7.26 ppm, 13 C: 77.16 ppm). The multiplicities of the signals are described using the following abbreviations: s = singlet, d = doublet, t = triplet, q = quartet, p = quintuplet, br = broad. The spectra were evaluated with the software MestReNova 10.0.2. High resolution mass spectra were obtained on an ESI-FTICR-MS: Ionspec QFT-7 (Agilent/Varian), or a HR-EI-MS: Autospec Premier (Waters). Low resolution mass spectra (GC-MS) were recorded on a GC system Agilent Technologies 7890-A series/Mass selective detector, Agilent Technologies 5975 C (Säule: HP-5MS (J&W Scientific, Agilent); 30 m, 0.250 mm i.D., Film 0.25 μm).Enantiomeric ratios were determined by chiral HPLC (Agilent Series 1200 with DAD) or by GC (Agilent 7890B) on a chiral column. The specific conditions are given in each case. IR spectra were measured on a JASCO FT/IR-4100 spectrometer. Characteristic abs...