Exo-Selective Diels-Alder Reactions

The Diels-Alder reaction stands as one of the most pivotal transformations in organic chemistry. Its efficiency, marked by the formation of two carbon-carbon bonds and up to four new stereocenters in a single step, underscores its versatility and indispensability in synthesizing natural products and pharmaceuticals. The most significant stereoselectivity feature is the "endo rule". While this rule underpins the predictability of the stereochemical outcomes, it also underscores the challenges in achieving the opposite diastereoselectivity, making the exo-Diels-Alder reactions often considered outliers. This review delves into recent examples of exo-Diels-Alder reactions, shedding light on the factors inverting the intrinsic tendency. We explore the roles of steric, electrostatic, and orbital interactions, as well as thermodynamic equilibriums in influencing exo/endo selectivity. Furthermore, we illustrate strategies to manipulate these factors, employing approaches such as bulky substituents, s-cis conformations, transient structural constraints, and innovative control physics. Through these analyses, our aim is to provide a comprehensive understanding of how to predict and design exo-Diels-Alder reactions, paving the way for new diastereoselective catalyst systems and expanding the chemical scope of Diels-Alder reactions.

Aromatic Amine and Chiral Phosphoric Acid Synergistic Catalyzed Cascade Reaction of Alkynylnaphthols with Aldehydes

A novel approach using aromatic amines and chiral phosphoric acids in a synergistic catalytic cascade reaction of 2-alkynylnaphthols with aldehydes has been established. This method offers a direct route to preparing flavanone analogues with excellent stereoselectivity. Mechanistic studies reveal a sequential process involving addition, elimination, cyclization, and hydrolysis in which aromatic amines and chiral phosphoric acids play key roles via imine-enamine and hydrogen bonding models.

Asymmetric [4 + 2], [6 + 2], and [6 + 4] Cycloadditions of Isomeric Formyl Cycloheptatrienes Catalyzed by a Chiral Diamine Catalyst

Novel asymmetric aminocatalytic cycloadditions are described between formyl cycloheptatrienes and 6,6-dimethylfulvene that lead to [4 + 2], [6 + 2], and [4 + 6] cycloadducts. The unprecedented reaction course is dependent on the position of the formyl functionality in the cycloheptatriene core, and each formyl cycloheptatriene isomer displays a distinct reactivity pattern. The formyl cycloheptatriene isomers are activated by a chiral primary diamine catalyst, and the activation mode is dependent on the position of the formyl functionality relative to the cycloheptatriene core. The [4 + 2] and [6 + 2] cycloadducts are formed via rare iminocatalytic inverse electron-demand cycloadditions, while the [4 + 6] cycloadduct is formed by a normal electron-demand cycloaddition. The reactivity displayed by the different formyl cycloheptatrienes was investigated by DFT calculations. These computational studies account for the different reaction paths for the three isomeric formyl cycloheptatrienes. The aminocatalytic [4 + 2], [6 + 2], and [4 + 6] cycloadditions proceed by stepwise processes, and the interplay between conjugation, substrate distortion, and dispersive interactions between the fulvene and aminocatalyst mainly defines the outcome of each cycloaddition.

Stereoselective Construction of Fluorinated Quaternary Stereogenic Centers via an Organocatalytic Asymmetric exo-Selective Diels-Alder Reaction in the Presence of Water

A catalytic, asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction of α-fluoro α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and cyclopentadiene was developed using diarylprolinol silyl ether as an organocatalyst. The reaction proceeds in toluene with trifluoroacetic acid as an additive (condition A). Perchloric acid salt of diarylprolinol silyl ether also promotes the reaction using water as a reaction medium (condition B). In both cases, excellent exo-selectivity and enantioselectivity were obtained with generation of a fluorinated quaternary chiral center.

New entry to the enantioselective formation of substituted cyclohexenes bearing an all-carbon quaternary stereogenic center

Enantioselective formation of cyclohexene derivatives bearing an all-carbon quaternary stereogenic center is described. The racemic cyclohexenes are readily transformed to chiral substituted cyclohexenes in good yield with excellent enantioselectivity and diastereoselectivity by a palladium-mediated deracemization. The resulting products are promising synthetic intermediates of biologically active natural products. This protocol provides us with a new entry to the concise and scalable synthesis of multifunctionalized compounds.

A multi-substrate screening approach for the identification of a broadly applicable Diels-Alder catalyst

When developing a synthetic methodology, chemists generally optimize a single substrate and then explore the substrate scope of their method. This approach has led to innumerable and widely-used chemical reactions. However, it frequently provides methods that only work on model substrate-like compounds. Perhaps worse, reaction conditions that would enable the conversion of other substrates may be missed. We now show that a different approach, originally proposed by Kagan, in which a collection of structurally distinct substrates are evaluated in a single reaction vessel, can not only provide information on the substrate scope at a much earlier stage in methodology development, but even lead to a broadly applicable synthetic methodology. Using this multi-substrate screening approach, we have identified an efficient and stereoselective imidodiphosphorimidate organocatalyst for scalable Diels-Alder reactions of cyclopentadiene with different classes of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes.

First aromatic amine organocatalysed activation of α,β-unsaturated ketones

The first example of a chiral aromatic amine used to activate α,β-unsaturated ketones in aminocatalysis.

Aromatic Aminocatalysis

Aromatic aminocatalysis refers to transformations that employ aromatic amines, such as anilines or aminopyridines, as catalysts. Owing to the conjugation of the amine moiety with the aromatic ring, aromatic amines demonstrate distinctive features in aminocatalysis compared with their aliphatic counterparts. For example, aromatic aminocatalysis typically proceeds with slower turnover, but is more active and conformationally rigid as a result of the stabilized aromatic imine or iminium species. In fact, the advent of aromatic aminocatalysis can be traced back to before the renaissance of organocatalysis in the early 2000s. So far, aromatic aminocatalysis has been widely applied in bioconjugation reactions through transamination; in asymmetric organocatalysis through imine/enamine tautomerization; and in cooperative catalysis with transition metals through C-H/C-C activation and functionalization. This Focus Review summarizes the advent of and major advances in the use of aromatic aminocatalysis in bioconjugation reactions and organic synthesis.

Asymmetric Diels-Alder Reaction of α-Substituted and β,β-Disubstituted α,β-Enals via Diarylprolinol Silyl Ether for the Construction of All-Carbon Quaternary Stereocenters

The asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction of α-substituted acrolein proceeds in the presence of the trifluoroacetic acid salt of trifluoromethyl-substituted diarylprolinol silyl ether to afford the exo-isomer with both excellent diastereoselectivity and high enantioselectivity. In the Diels-Alder reaction of a β,β-disubstituted α,β-unsaturated aldehyde, good exo-selectivity and excellent enantioselectivity was obtained when the perchloric acid salt of the bulky triisopropyl silyl ether of trifluoromethyl substituted diarylprolinol was employed as an organocatalyst in the presence of water. In both cases, all-carbon quaternary stereocenters are constructed enantioselectively.

An Organocatalytic Cope Rearrangement

The first example of an organocatalytic Cope rearrangement is reported. Acyclic and cyclic acyl hydrazides catalyze the rearrangement of 1,5-hexadiene-2-carboxaldehydes via iminium ion formation. A correlation between ring size and catalyst activity was observed for the cyclic hydrazides, with seven- and eight-membered-ring catalysts being the most active. Diazepane carboxylate 5 c (10 mol %) catalyzed the rearrangement of a range of dienes at room temperature in acetonitrile using triflic acid as a co-catalyst. Preliminary proof of principle for asymmetric catalysis was provided by rearrangement of 3,3-dimethyl-7-phenyl-1,5-heptadiene-2-carboxaldehyde in the presence of a novel 7-substituted diazepane carboxylate.

Catalytic discrimination between formyl groups in regio- and stereoselective intramolecular cross-aldol reactions

Catalytic discrimination between inequivalent formyl groups was achieved using an aniline-type acid-base catalyst for the regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselective intramolecular cross-aldol reactions of enolizable dials. Although l-proline gave a mixture of the regio- and stereoisomeric products in the presence of an N-containing 1,6-dial, the aniline-type catalyst afforded anti-3,4-disubstituted pyrrolidine in high regio-, and stereoselectivity beyond the background reaction, which led to the regioisomeric 2,3-disubstituted products. The mild reactivity of the aniline-type amine facilitated catalytic discrimination between the inequivalent formyl groups. Kinetic isotope effect studies and reductive amination experiments suggested that the regioselectivity was controlled under the enamine-forming steps.

A new chiral C1-symmetric NHC-catalyzed addition to α-aryl substituted α,β-disubstituted enals: enantioselective synthesis of fully functionalized dihydropyranones

A new C₁-symmetric biarylsaturated imidazolium exhibits a superior ability to enable previously unavailable transformation, and the corresponding fully functionalized dihydropyranones are efficiently synthesized.

endo/exo stereoselectivity in Diels-Alder reactions of α,β-dialkylated conjugated enals to cyclic 1,3-dienes: intermediates in the synthesis of (-)-β-santalol and its analogs

Highly exo-selective [4+2] cycloadditions of cyclopenta-1,3-diene 2a to α,β-dialkyl conjugated enals 5 are compared with the analogous endo-favored Diels-Alder reaction of cyclohexa-1,3-diene 7. The exo-stereoselectivity is lower in the homologous case of methylcyclopenta-1,3-diene 9. This diastereoselectivity is discussed either in terms of a retro-homo-Diels-Alder reaction, associated with thermodynamic control, or with respect to either a competing hetero-Diels-Alder/Claisen or Cope domino pathway, or retro-Claisen/retro-hetero-Diels-Alder of the endo-homo-cycloadducts. These hypothetical mechanisms have been examined by DFT calculations at the MPW1K(CH2 Cl2 )/6-31+G** level of theory for the AlCl3 -mediated cycloadditions of 5d to 2a and 7. Application of Corey's methodology to the γ-halogeno-α-methyl-substituted dienophiles 5a and 5b allowed an enantioselective preparation of known and useful intermediates for the synthesis of either the naturally occurring (-)-β-santalol or its potentially olfactive structural analogs.

Chiral primary-amine-catalyzed conjugate addition to α-substituted vinyl ketones/aldehydes: divergent stereocontrol modes on enamine protonation

Enantioselective protonation with a catalytic enamine intermediate represents a challenging, yet fundamentally important process for the synthesis of α-chiral carbonyls. We describe herein chiral primary-amine-catalyzed conjugate additions of indoles to both α-substituted acroleins and vinyl ketones. These reactions feature enamine protonation as the stereogenic step. A simple primary-tertiary vicinal diamine 1 with trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TfOH) was found to enable both of the reactions of acroleins and vinyl ketones with good activity and high enantioselectivity. Detailed mechanistic studies reveal that these reactions are rate-limiting in iminium formation and they all involve a uniform H2 O/acid-bridged proton transfer in the stereogenic steps but divergent stereocontrol modes for the protonation stereoselectivity. For the reactions of α-branched acroleins, facial selections on H2 O-bridged protonation determine the enantioselectivity, which is enhanced by an OH⋅⋅⋅π interaction with indole as uncovered by DFT calculations. On the other hand, the stereoselectivity of the reactions with vinyl ketones is controlled according to the Curtin-Hammett principle in the CC bond-formation step, which precedes a highly stereospecific enamine protonation.

Cinchona-based primary amine catalysis in the asymmetric functionalization of carbonyl compounds

Asymmetric aminocatalysis exploits the potential of chiral primary and secondary amines to catalyze asymmetric reactions. It has greatly simplified the functionalization of carbonyl compounds while ensuring high enantioselectivity. Recent advances in cinchona-based primary amine catalysis have provided new synthetic opportunities and conceptual perspectives for successfully attacking major challenges in carbonyl compound chemistry, which traditional approaches have not been able to address. This Review outlines the historical context for the development of this catalyst class while charting the landmark discoveries and applications that have further expanded the synthetic potential of aminocatalysis.

Stepwise Diels-Alder: more than just an oddity? A computational mechanistic study

We have employed hybrid DFT and SCS-MP2 calculations at the SMD-PCM-6-311++G(2d,2p)//6-31+G(d) level to investigate the relationship between three possible channels for forming a Diels-Alder adduct from a highly nucleophilic diene and moderately to highly electrophilic dienophiles. We discuss geometries optimized using the B3LYP and M06-2X functionals with the 6-31+(d) basis set. The transition states and intermediates are characterized on the basis of geometric and electronic properties, and we also address the possibility of predicting detectability of a zwitterionic intermediate based on its relative stability. Our results show that a conventional Diels-Alder transition state conformation yields intermediates in all four investigated cases, but that these are too short-lived to be detected experimentally for the less activated reactants. The stepwise trans pathway, beginning with a conjugate addition-like transition state, becomes increasingly competitive with more activated reactants and is indeed favored for the most electrophilic dienophiles. Addition of a trans diene leads to a dead-end as the trans intermediates have insurmountable rotation barriers that prohibit formation of the second bond, unless another, heterocyclic intermediate is formed. We also show that introduction of a hydrogen bond donating catalyst favors a stepwise pathway even for less activated dienophiles.

Discovery of 2-aminobuta-1,3-enynes in asymmetric organocascade catalysis: construction of drug-like spirocyclic cyclohexanes having five to six contiguous stereocenters

We present herein for the first time the asymmetric synthesis of drug-like spiranes through reflexive-Michael reaction by using 2-aminobuta-1,3-enyne catalysis under mild conditions.

A novel hydrazide type organocatalyst for enantioselective Diels-Alder reactions

The development of a new class of hydrazide type organocatalyst, (4R,5R)-1,3-bis(isopropylamino)-4,5-dihenylimidazolidin-2-one 2a, for enantioselective Diels-Alder reactions between cyclopentadiene and α,β-unsaturated aldehydes are presented. The new organocatalyst 2a promoted the reaction, affording Diels-Alder adducts in good yields with good levels of enantioselectivity.