Tandem Asymmetric Cyclopropanation/Cope Rearrangement. A Highly Diastereoselective and Enantioselective Method for the Construction of 1,4-Cycloheptadienes

Abstract

Decomposition of vinyldiazoacetates by rhodium(II) (N-dodecylbenzenesulfonyl)prolinate (Rh2(S-DOSP)4, 1) in the presence of dienes results in a direct and highly enantioselective method for the formation of cis-divinylcyclopropanes. Combination of this process with a subsequent Cope rearrangement results in a highly enantioselective synthesis of a variety of cycloheptadienes containing multiple stereogenic centers.