Ring closure reactions of substituted 4-pentenyl-1-oxy radicals. The stereoselective synthesis of functionalized disubstituted tetrahydrofurans

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jo00126a021

N-(Alkyloxy)pyridine-2(1H)-thiones 3 and benzenesulfenic acid O-esters 5 have been synthesized from substituted 4-pentenols 1 or the derived tosylates. Compounds 3 and 5 are efficient sources of free alkoxy radicals 6 which undergo synthetically useful fast ring closure reactions 6 → 8 [k(exo) = (2 ± 1) x 10⁸ s^-1 to (6 ± 2) x 10⁹ s^-1 (T = 30 ± 0.2°C)]. Tetrahydrofurfuryl radicals 8 can be trapped with, e.g., hydrogen or chlorine atom donors to afford either trans- or cis-disubstituted tetrahydrofurans 10 or 12 depending on the substitution pattern of the 4-pentenyloxy radical. Substituted tetrahydropyrans 11 or 13 are formed in the minor 6-endo-trig cyclization. According to the data of competition kinetics, the observed stereoselectivities in free alkoxy radical cyclizations arise from steric interactions between the substituents in the transition state of the ring closure reactions. Alkyl substituents cause small differences in the measured relative rate constants of 5-exo cyclizations which are reminiscent of the data obtained from the rearrangements of alkyl-substituted 5-hexenyl radicals. Likewise, a stereochemical model for oxygen radical cyclization is proposed where the pentenyloxy chain adopts a six-membered, chairlike transition state with the alkyl substituents preferentially situated in the pseudoequatorial positions leading to 2,5-trans-, 2,4-cis-, and 2,3-trans-substituted tetrahydrofurfuryl radicals 8 as the major intermediates.