Tetraacylethenes as Dienophiles and Hetero Dienes in Two-Step Diels-Alder Reactions.

Oxidation with barium manganate of the enol of tetraacetylethane (10) affords tetraacetylethylene (7a) in good yield. Treatment of the 1,3-diketones 15a and b with iodosobenzene in the presence of boron trifluoride does not result in oxidative coupling yielding 10 and diacetyldibenzoylethane 17, respectively, as has been reported by Moriarty et al. Instead the known difluoroborylenolates 16 are formed. Oxidative coupling of the sodium enolate of 15b with iodine affords the meso-tetraketone meso-17 and diacetyldibenzoylethylene (E)-7b besides small amounts of rac-17 and the bisenol 19. In the presence of 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane, meso-17 and 19 tautomerise yielding identical equilibrium mixtures of meso-17, rac-17, and 19 (26:29:45). Dehydrogenation with 5,6-dichloro-2,3-dicyanobenzoquinone of meso-17 yields (E)-7b and an isomer (77:23) which was assigned structure (Z)-7b on the basis of spectroscopic evidence. – Tetraacetylethylene (7a) reacts with 1,2-dimethylenecyclohexane to afford two different [4+2]cycloadducts, viz. the spirocyclic dihydropyran 25 (30 %) and the tetraacetyloctalin 27. Whereas the latter is stable, the former isomerises to the latter on heating. Formation of both [4+2]cycloadducts and the isomerisation 25 27 are interpreted by invoking the zwitterion 26 as common intermediate. Monoolefines that cannot generate stable carbenium ions don't give [4+2]cycloadducts with 7a. In contrast, α-methylstyrene yields the oxa Diels–Alder product 30. The structures of (E)-7b, 19, 25, and 27 are established by X-ray diffraction analyses.