CO Versus CC Bond Cleavage: Selectivity Control in Lewis Acid Catalyzed Chemodivergent Cycloadditions of Aryl Oxiranyldicarboxylates with Aldehydes, and Theoretical Rationalizations of Reaction Pathways

Abstract

A clean break: Lewis acid catalyzed chemodivergent [3+2] cycloadditions of aryl oxiranyldicarboxylates with aldehydes are revealed, in which the CC or CO bond cleavage of oxiranes can be controlled by the use of Ni(ClO4)2 or Sn(OTf)2 catalysts (see scheme). Possible reaction pathways for these transformations are demonstrated by theoretical calculations.