Facile and innovative catalytic protocol for intramolecular Friedel–Crafts cyclization of Morita–Baylis–Hillman adducts: Synergistic combination of chiral (salen)chromium(III)/BF₃·OEt₂ catalysis

• Karthikeyan Soundararajan,
• Helen Ratna Monica Jeyarajan,
• Raju Subimol Kamarajapurathu and
• Karthik Krishna Kumar Ayyanoth

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2186–2193, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.140

• -substituted-1H-indenes from unique substrates of Morita–Baylis–Hillman adducts via an easy operating practical procedure. Keywords: boron trifluoride etherate; chiral (salen)chromium(III); intramolecular Friedel–Crafts cyclization; Morita–Baylis–Hillman adducts; substituted-1H-indenes; Introduction

• arrangement would facilitate the intramolecular Friedel–Crafts cyclization of the MBH adducts. Cycloaddition of azomethine imine 7a with 2-substituted-1H-indenes 6b and 6c was attempted to ascertain the structure of the synthesized 1H-indenes (Scheme 3). The azomethine imine, 1-benzylidene-3-oxopyrazolidin-1

• -ium-2-ide (7a) was synthesised at room temperature by treating methyl acrylate, hydrazine hydrate and benzaldehyde in a yield of 67%. On treating the synthesised azomethine imine 7a (1.2 mM) and 2-substituted-1H-indenes 6b and 6c (1 mM) in toluene at 70 °C affords 8a and 8b via [3 + 2] cycloaddition

When cyclopropenes meet gold catalysts

• Frédéric Miege,
• Christophe Meyer and
• Janine Cossy

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2011, 7, 717–734, doi:10.3762/bjoc.7.82

• quantitatively catalyzed by AgClO4 (2 mol %, C6H6, rt) [33]. Wang et al. also examined the behaviour of 3-arylcyclopropenes bearing a protected hydroxymethyl group at C3: only acetates 29 underwent clean conversion to 1-methylene-2-substituted-1H-indenes 30 [21]. The yields were improved by the addition of DBU