Six- and seven-membered ring-fused,
functionalized cyclopentadienes
can be obtained in moderate to excellent yields by a cascade process
entailing the Au(I)-catalyzed propargyl Claisen rearrangement/Nazarov
cyclization of propargyl vinyl ethers, the hetero-Diels–Alder
reaction with dialkylazodicarboxylates, and the spontaneous conversion
of cycloaddition products into cyclopentadienes by a highly regioselective
cleavage of a C–N bond. Depending on the treatment of the crude
reaction mixtures, two types of products can be obtained: cyclopentadienes
with pendant hydrazine and aldehyde moieties that intramolecularly
react to form hemiaminals are obtained in 43–52% overall yields
when the crude reaction mixtures are left over K2CO3 in a DCM solution. Instead, by reducing in situ the aldehyde group just after addition of the heterodienophile,
the regioselective C–N bond cleavage generates the corresponding
cyclopentadienes bearing a hydrazine and an alcohol appendage in excellent
yields (66–82%) over four steps, all in one pot. Two examples
from the latter class of compounds were also converted into ring-fused,
functionalized cyclopentadienes, bearing a protected amino group,
by the selective N–N cleavage of the hydrazine moiety.