Table 2. The FeCl3-mediated cyclization of diynes 1a–d with acetals 2.[a]
if it was carried out in DCE or toluene, whereas di-
chloromethane seems to be the most suitable sol-
vent for the reaction (Table 1, entries 1–7). The use
of an excess of FeCl3 or catalytic amounts of FeCl3
with
Me3SiCl, led to a lower reaction efficiency (Table 1,
entries 4, 8, and 9). Unexpectedly, iron(III) trichlor-
a chloride source, such as CH3COCl or
AHCTUNGTRENNUNG
diyne (1)
Ar’ (2)
Product
(Y; yield[b] [%])
ide hydrate (FeCl3·6H2O) exhibited no activity in
this reaction (Table 1, entry 10). However, Lewis
acids SnCl4 and TiCl4 showed moderate to good ac-
tivity (Table 1, entries 11 and 12). Due to the easier
manipulation of FeCl3 than SnCl4, the former was
chosen as the mediator/chloride source for the
tandem cyclization/halogenation of 1a with benzal-
dehyde acetals. The reactions of 1a with PhCH-
AHCTUNGTRENNUNG
1
1a
1a
1a
1a
1a
1a
1a
Ph (2a)
3a (Cl; 66)
3b (Cl; 52)
3c (Cl; 51)
3d (Cl; 49)
3e (Cl; 46)
3 f (Br; 70)
3g (Br; 50)
2[c]
3[c]
4
4-MeOC6H4 (2b)
3-MeOC6H4 (2c)
3-CF3C6H4 (2d)
3-BrC6H4 (2e)
Ph (2a)
5
6[d]
7[d]
4-ClC6H4 (2 f)
ACHTUNGTRENNUNG(OMe)2 (2ab), PhCHAHCTUNGTREN(NUGN OCH2CH2O) (2ac), and their
8
9
1b
1c
4-MeOC6H4 (2b)
Ph (2a)
3h (Cl; 41)
parent aldehyde, PhCHO (2ad), were also carried
out under the same conditions, producing 3a in 48,
41 and 0% yields, respectively, and revealing that
diethyl benzaldehyde acetal 2a exhibits much
higher reactivity than its analogues (Scheme 2).
Under the optimized conditions, a variety of re-
actions of compounds 1 with compounds 2 were ex-
plored (Table 2). TsN-linked diyne 1a reacted with
diethyl benzaldehyde acetals 2a–e to form the de-
sired products 3a–e in 46–66% yields (Table 2, en-
tries 1–5). By using FeBr3 instead of FeCl3 as the
Lewis acid mediator/halogen source, the reactions
of 1a with 2a and 2 f gave the same type of prod-
ucts, that is, 3 f (70%) and 3g (50%), respectively,
3i (Cl; 25) + 4 (60)
3j (Cl; 62)
3j (Cl; 67)[e]
10
1d
Ph (2a)
[a] Reaction conditions: 1 (0.5 mmol), 2 (0.5 mmol), FeCl3 (0.5 mmol), CH2Cl2 (5 mL),
N2 atmosphere, 08C, 0.5 h. [b] Isolated yields. [c] 258C. [d] FeBr3 (0.75 mmol) was
used instead of FeCl3. [e] SnCl4 (0.5 mmol) was used instead of FeCl3.
The formation of the desired product was clearly affected
by the substituents on the aryl moieties and by the tether
atom in diyne 1 (Table 2 and the Supporting Information).
Moreover, increasing the electron density of the aryl func-
tionalities in diynes 1e–g by introducing two electron-donat-
ing methyl groups led to the formation of 1-methylene-2,3-
disubstituted 1H-indenes 5 (51–72%) as the major product
(Table 3). The presence of electron-withdrawing substituents
on the aryl moiety of acetals 2 improved the yield of com-
pounds 5 from the reaction of 1e–g with compounds 2
(Table 3). The generation of indenes 3 and 5 was further
confirmed by X-ray crystallographic structural analysis of
Scheme 2. The reactions of diyne 1a with acetals 2ab–ad.
which have incorporated a bromovinyl moiety (Table 2, en-
tries 6 and 7). O-Tethered diyne 1b reacted with acetal 2b
and FeCl3 to generate 3h in 41% yield (Table 2, entry 8).
Unexpectedly, the reaction of C-tethered diyne 1c with
acetal 2a in the presence of FeCl3 formed the desired prod-
uct 3i (25%) as only the minor product, while alkynyl
enone 4 (60%) was the major product (Table 2, entry 9),
which suggests that one of the alkynyl moieties underwent
intramolecular cyclization with 2a.[13b] These results suggest
that the tethering heteroatoms may stabilize a cationic inter-
mediate during the reaction.[14] It is noteable that the reac-
tion of functionalized diyne 1d with 2a also formed the de-
sired product 3j in the presence of either FeCl3 or SnCl4
(Table 2, entry 10).
products 3a and 5i (Figure 1 and Figure 2, respectively), re-
vealing their fused tricyclic structures and the construction
of three new carbon–carbon bonds in the newly formed
backbones.
Possible mechanisms for the reaction are proposed in
Scheme 3. In pathway a, the oxocarbonium cation Ar’CH=
OEt+ (A) is generated in situ from the interaction of FeCl3
with diethyl benzaldehyde acetal 2, Ar’CH
ACHTUNGRTEN(NUNG OEt)2, by loss of
the FeCl3A
CTHUNGTRENNUNG
a [2+2] cycloaddition reaction to form oxete B, which is
shown to be preferentially formed by our theoretical study
of the reaction.[13b] Ring-opening of B gives 4p-cation C,
which undergoes a Nazarov-type cyclization reaction,[15]
yielding oxocarbonium cation F via species D and E. Intra-
10548
ꢀ 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Chem. Eur. J. 2011, 17, 10547 – 10551