Synthesis of the indene, THF, and pyrrolidine skeletons by Lewis acid mediated cycloaddition of methylenecyclopropanes with aldehydes, N-tosyl aldimines, and acetals

Chemistry. 2005 Dec 23;12(2):510-7. doi: 10.1002/chem.200500447.

Abstract

Methylenecyclopropanes (MCPs 1) react with aldehydes, N-tosyl aldimines, and acetals to give the corresponding indene, THF, and pyrrolidine cycloaddition products in the presence of BF3 x OEt2 under mild reaction conditions. Some special transformations of MCPs 1 with aldehydes have been reported in this paper. A plausible reaction mechanism has been discussed, which is based on a deuterium-labeling experiment and the Prins-type reaction mechanism.