S. Kuroda et al., A convenient synthetic method for preparing 2,5-disubstituted 1,6-methano[10]annulenes from 1,6-diacetylcyclohepta-1,3,5-triene, B CHEM S J, 73(7), 2000, pp. 1659-1671
The reaction of 1,6-diacetylcyclohepta-1,3,5-triene with various Grignard r
eagents gave high yields of addition products 5, which were treated with a
catalytic amount of p-toluenesulfonic acid or pyridinium p-toluenesulfonate
to afford 2,5-disubstituted 2,3-dihydro-1,6-methano[10]annulenes 6 via 1,6
-bis(1-substituted vinyl)cyclohepta-1,3,5-trienes 8 and 2,5-disubstituted 3
,4-dihydro-1,6-methano[10]annulenes 9. On the other hand, reactions under m
ore forcing conditions gave the rearrangement products: 4,7-disubstituted 1
,2-benzocyclohepta-1,3-dienes 7. The oxidation of 6 with 2,3-dichloro-5,6-d
icyano-1,4-benzoquinone gave the 2,5-disubstituted 1,6-methano[10]annulens
4 in moderate-to-good yields. Conversion from 5 into 4 can he achieved by a
one-flask procedure, providing a convenient synthetic method for preparing
the title annulenes, particularly 2,5-diaryl ones. The reaction mechanism
from 8 to 6, 7, and 9 is discussed on the basis of semiempirical molecular
orbital calculations.