1. Overcoming Kinetic and Thermodynamic Challenges of Classic Cope Rearrangements
- Author
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Jacob N. Sanders, Alexander J. Grenning, Roland A. Yu, Ehsan Fereyduni, Breanna M. Tomiczek, Ouidad Lahtigui, Michael D. Mannchen, and K. N. Houk
- Subjects
Allylic rearrangement ,010405 organic chemistry ,Chemistry ,Organic Chemistry ,Convergent synthesis ,Polyenes ,Sigmatropic reaction ,010402 general chemistry ,01 natural sciences ,Combinatorial chemistry ,0104 chemical sciences ,Kinetics ,Medicinal and Biomolecular Chemistry ,Yield (chemistry) ,Electrophile ,Moiety ,Thermodynamics ,Cope rearrangement - Abstract
Systematic evaluation of 1,5-dienes bearing 3,3-electron-withdrawing groups and 4-methylation results in the discovery of a Cope rearrangement for Meldrum's acid-containing substrates that have unexpectedly favorable kinetic and thermodynamic profiles. The protocol is quite general due to a concise and convergent synthesis from abundant starting materials. Furthermore, products with an embedded Meldrum's acid moiety are prepared, which, in turn, can yield complex amides under neutral conditions. We have now expanded the scope of the reductive Cope rearrangement, which, via chemoselective reduction, can promote thermodynamically unfavorable [3,3] sigmatropic rearrangements of 3,3-dicyano-1,5-dienes to form reduced Cope rearrangement products. The Cope rearrangement is found to be stereospecific and can yield enantioenriched building blocks when chiral, nonracemic 1,3-disubstituted allylic electrophiles are utilized. We expand further the use of Cope rearrangements for the synthesis of highly valuable building blocks for complex- and drug-like molecular synthesis.
- Published
- 2021