Annuloselectivity in Cycloadditions of Ketenes with Imines: A DFT Study

Aryne and CO2-based formal [2 + 2 + 2] annulation to access tetrahydroisoquinoline-fused benzoxazinones

Tetrahydroisoquinoline and its fused polyheterocycles are prevalent structural motifs found in numerous natural products. In this study, we report a highly efficient and convergent synthetic approach for the construction of tetrahydroisoquinoline-fused polyheterocycles through a three-component formal [2 + 2 + 2] annulation process by combining 3,4-dihydroisoquinolines, CO2, and benzynes. Notably, electron-rich 3,4-dihydroisoquinolines and electron-deficient benzynes exhibit greater reactivity in this annulation. Moreover, this method benefits from the convergent synthesis and the utilization of carbon dioxide, providing a valuable strategy for the facile synthesis of tetrahydroisoquinoline-fused polyheterocycles, with potential applications in the discovery and development of novel organic molecules.

Theoretical Insight into the Mechanism of Cu(I)-Catalyzed [2 + 2 + 1] Cycloaddition to β-Pyrrolinones: Azaheterocycle Formation and Assisted Dehydrogenation with Solvent MeNO2

The construction of multisubstituted β-pyrrolinones from simple starting materials remains a great challenge. Recently, a novel Cu(I)-catalyzed [2 + 2 + 1] cycloaddition reaction was developed for rapid access to fully substituted β-pyrrolinones, which are difficult to synthesize through traditional methods as this approach may involve unusual C-nucleophilic addition of enamines and umpolung of imines. Elucidating the reaction mechanism may inspire the development of new methodologies via the unusual C-nucleophilic addition of enamines and imines. However, the reaction mechanism is still unclear because none of the intermediates was observed during the reaction process. In this work, we employed theoretical and computational chemistry to investigate the possible pathway. Finally, the calculated results indicate that ketene formed by the Wolff rearrangement of α-diazo-β-ketoester reacts with enamine formed by the addition of alkynes and amine, affording the five-membered azaheterocycle, and this process involves the formation of a six-membered ring intermediate and sequential isomerization, and the further dehydrogenation needs to be assisted with solvent MeNO₂.

Sterically controlled diastereoselectivity in thio-Staudinger cycloadditions of alkyl/alkenyl/aryl-substituted thioketenes

Diastereoselectivity in [2 + 2] cycloadditions of alkyl/alkenyl/arylthioketenes and imines, named as thio-Staudinger cycloaddition, was rationalized and verified.

Stereochemistry and mechanistic insights in the [2t + 2i + 2i] annulations of thioketenes and imines

The mechanism and stereochemistry of [2^t + 2ⁱ + 2ⁱ] annulations between one thioketene molecule and two imine molecules have been studied experimentally and theoretically.

Stereochemistry and Mechanistic Insight in the [2(k)+2(i)+2(i)] Annulations of Ketenes and Imines

The stereochemistry and mechanistic insight in the annulations of one ketene molecule with two imine molecules ([2(k)+2(i)+2(i)] annulation) are studied by using six-membered 3,4-dihydroisoquinoline as an imine probe. A concerted hetero-Diels-Alder cycloaddition mechanism is proposed to explain the stereochemical outcomes. In most cases, the zwitterionic 2-aza-1,3-butadiene-type intermediates, generated from ketenes and imines, undergo endo hetero-Diels-Alder cycloaddition with the second imine molecule. For ketenes with electron-donating substituents, (2,4)-cis-(4,5)-cis-[2(k)+2(i)+2(i)] annuladducts formed stereospecifically, while, for ketenes with electron-accepting substituents, (2,4)-cis-(4,5)-trans-[2(k)+2(i)+2(i)] annuladducts are generated stereospecifically. The [2(k)+2(i)+2(i)] annulations of aryloxyketenes and 3,4-dihydroisoquinoline give stereodivergent products due to the occurrence of the stepwise nucleophilic annulation. However, in the [2(k)+2(i)+2(i)] annulations of seven-membered cyclic imine dibenzo[b,f][1,4]oxazepine, the zwitterionic aza-butadiene-type intermediates exclusively undergo exo hetero-Diels-Alder cycloadditions with another molecule of imine to yield (2,4)-trans-(4,5)-trans-[2(k)+2(i)+2(i)] annuladducts stereospecifically, regardless of the ketene substituents. The mechanistic model not only discloses the nature of the [2(k)+2(i)+2(i)] annulations, but also can be used to explain and predict the stereochemistry of the [2(k)+2(i)+2(i)] annuladducts from different ketenes and imines.

Temperature-dependent annuloselectivity and stereochemistry in the reactions of methanesulfonyl sulfene with imines

The annuloselectivity in the reactions of methanesulfonyl sulfene and imines varies with temperature. At 20 °C, the [2^s+ 2ⁱ] annulation occurs exclusively, while at −78 °C, the [2^s+ 2ⁱ+ 2ⁱ] annulation ofN-methyl imines takes place specifically.

DFT study on the mechanisms and diastereoselectivities of Lewis acid-promoted ketene-alkene [2 + 2] cycloadditions: what is the role of Lewis acid in the ketene and C = X (X = O, CH₂, and NH) [2 + 2] cycloaddition reactions?

The detailed mechanisms and diastereoselectivities of Lewis acid-promoted ketene-alkene [2 + 2] cycloaddition reactions have been studied by density functional theory (DFT). Four possible reaction channels, including two noncatalyzed diastereomeric reaction channels (channels A and B) and two Lewis acid (LA) ethylaluminum dichloride (EtAlCl2) catalyzed diastereomeric reaction channels (channels C and D), have been investigated in this work. The calculated results indicate that channel A (associated with product R-configurational cycloputanone) is more energy favorable than channel B (associated with the other product S-configurational cyclobutanone) under noncatalyzed condition, but channel D leading to S-configurational cyclobutanone is more energy-favorable than channel C, leading to R-configurational cycloputanone under a LA-promoted condition, which is consistent with the experimental results. And Lewis acid can make the energy barrier of ketene-alkene [2 + 2] cycloaddition much lower. In order to explore the role of LA in ketene and C = X (X = O, CH2, and NH) [2 + 2] cycloadditions, we have tracked and compared the interaction modes of frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs) along the intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) under the two different conditions. Besides by reducing the energy gap between the FMOs of the reactants, our computational results demonstrate that Lewis acid lowers the energy barrier of the ketene and C = X [2 + 2] cycloadditions by changing the overlap modes of the FMOs, which is remarkably different from the traditional FMO theory. Furthermore, analysis of global reactivity indexes has also been performed to explain the role of LA catalyst in the ketene-alkene [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction.

Base-switched annuloselectivity in the reactions of ethyl malonyl chloride and imines

The [2 + 2] and [2 + 2 + 2] annuloselectivity in the reactions of ethyl malonyl chloride with imines was controlled by different bases, providing a simple synthesis of β-lactam-3-carboxylates and 2,3-dihydro-1,3-oxazin-4-ones.