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

摘要

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 tetraliydro-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 dien-ophiles, 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.