1,2,3,4-tetrachloro-5,5-dimethoxy-cyclopenta-1,3-diene: Diels-Alder reactions and applications of the products formed

Readily available 1,2,3,4-tetrachloro-5,5-dimethoxy-cyclopenta-1,3-diene (2 ) is an excellent cyclic diene for Diels-Alder reaction with a vast variety of dienophiles, The products so formed (norbornene derivatives) constitute important building blocks for the synthesis of diverse complex natural as well as non-natural products. Apart from very high endo selectivity associa ted with Diels-Alder reactions, there are several other fascinating feature s associated with these bicyclic products which make them convenient entiti es in the synthesis of complex molecules. The most important is the rigid f ramework that act as a powerful template to provide high degree of selectiv ity and directional nature to various substituents. The proposed article is intended to focus on Diels-Alder reactions of 2 and the applications of no rbornene derivatives in organic synthesis.