Scope and Mechanism of the (4+3) Cycloaddition Reaction of Furfuryl Cations

J.M. Winne, S. Catak, M. Waroquier, V. Van Speybroeck
Angewandte Chemie int. Ed.
50 (50) 11990–11993
2011
A1

Abstract 

Furfuryl alcohols are revealed as direct reaction partners for a wide range of conjugated dienes in a (4+3) cycloaddition motif (see scheme). This novel Lewis-acid-promoted process gives straightforward access to various polycyclic skeletons containing a seven-membered ring. A plausible cationic stepwise mechanism was confirmed by DFT calculations.