Recent advances in [4 + 4] annulation of conjugated heterodienes with 1,4-dipolar species for the synthesis of eight-membered heterocycles

Numerous eight-membered heterocycles are of significance in biological chemistry, the pharmaceutical industry, agrochemistry, and materials science. However, the assembly of eight-membered heterocycles is usually challenging due to the unfavorable enthalpic and entropic barriers of the transition states during the ring formation. Tremendous efforts have been devoted to the development of synthetic routes to eight-membered heterocycles. Despite these developments, the exploration of more strategies for the facile and effective assembly of eight-membered heterocyclic molecules in a single vessel under mild conditions is still highly desirable. The conjugated heterodiene-participating [4 + 4] annulation serves as a convenient and robust strategy for the synthesis of eight-membered heterocycles from easily accessible starting materials. In recent years, great progress has been achieved in this attractive field. In this short review, we highlighted the recent advances in the synthesis of eight-membered heterocycles via cascade reactions based on [4 + 4] annulation of conjugated heterodienes with 1,4-dipolar species. The brief backgrounds, the general reactions, the proposed mechanisms and their features are summarized. The prospects and challenges of this field are also outlined at the end of this review. In addition, to highlight the importance and practicality of these reactions, the properties of several series of eight-membered heterocycles have also been introduced briefly.

Synthetic strategies and diversification of dibenzo[1,5]diazocines

Dibenzo[1,5]diazocine scaffolds are present in a wide range of organic building blocks, for example in pharmaceuticals, materials and structural chemistry. However, the development of these structural frameworks has not received significant attention owing to limited synthetic protocols and strategies. Herein, a summary of the attractive synthetic approaches for the construction of dibenzo[1,5]diazocines, epiminodibenzo[1,5]diazocines and epoxydibenzo[1,5]diazocines developed over the past two decades is presented. The spectroscopic, synthetic mechanisms for the formation of the heterocyclic rings and remarkable structural features, including in the solid-state, are discussed.

Epoxydibenzo[b,f][1,5]diazocines: From a Hidden Structural Motif to an Efficient Solvent-Free Synthetic Protocol

Epoxydiazocines belong to the rare class of small V-shaped molecules, closely related to Tröger’s base. Due to their intriguing, unique structure, they could serve as molecular building blocks for supramolecular chemistry. An extensive review on their synthesis is contained in this article. Moreover, our recent findings devoted to efficient and easily scalable synthesis of fluorinated epoxy[1,5][b,f]diazocines through solvent-free base-catalyzed condensation of ortho-aminophenones is provided. The unique V-shaped structure was confirmed by X-ray crystal structure analysis. Furthermore, the rigidity of the epoxy­diazocine skeleton allowed for racemate separation and the configuration of enantiomers was established by combining quantum chemical calculations and chiroptical methods.

1 Introduction

2 Synthetic Efforts Towards Epoxydibenzo[b,f][1,5]diazocines

3 Synthetic Efforts Towards Fluorinated Epoxydibenzo[b,f][1,5]diazocines

4 Conclusion