Photochemical Ring Contraction of 5,5-Dialkylcyclopent-2-enones and in situ Trapping by Primary Amines.

If substituted in the 5,5-position, cyclopent-2-enones undergo a smooth photochemical rearrangement to ketenes. A concomitant cyclopropane formation occurs due to a 1,3-shift of the C5 carbon atom from the carbonyl carbon atom (C1) to carbon atom C3. In this study, the cyclopropyl-substituted ketene intermediates were trapped in situ by primary amines providing an efficient entry into 2,2-disubstituted cyclopropaneacetic amides (24 examples, 49-95% yield). A remarkable feature of the reaction is the fact that the photochemical rearrangement can occur from either the first excited singlet (S1) or the respective triplet state (T1). In line with experimental results (triplet quenching, sensitization), XMS-CASPT2 calculations support the existence of efficient reaction pathways to the intermediate ketene both on the singlet and on the triplet hypersurface.

Intermolecular [2 + 2] Photocycloaddition of α,ß-Unsaturated Sulfones: Catalyst-Free Reaction and Catalytic Variants.

2-Aryl-1-sulfonyl-substituted cyclobutanes were prepared in an intermolecular [2 + 2] photocycloaddition from various α,ß-unsaturated sulfones and olefins upon irradiation at λ = 300 nm (26 examples, 60-99% yield). Lewis acids catalyzed the [2 + 2] photocycloaddition of 2-benzimidazolyl styryl sulfones. At short wavelengths, the latter substrates underwent C-S bond cleavage but AlBr3 (5 mol %) allowed for an intermolecular reaction with 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene at longer wavelengths. A chiral-at-metal Lewis acid (2 mol %) facilitated an enantioselective reaction (up to 77% ee).

Reversal of reaction type selectivity by Lewis acid coordination: the ortho photocycloaddition of 1- and 2-naphthaldehyde.

The value of a specific substrate class for synthetic applications is greatly enhanced if different types of reactions can be performed selectively upon a judicious choice of reaction conditions. In the present study it was shown that the typical photochemical behaviour of naphthaldehydes is completely altered in the presence of Lewis acids. Without Lewis acids, reactions at the carbonyl group are exclusively observed while Lewis acids facilitate a visible light-mediated cycloaddition at the arene core providing access to products of aromatic C-H functionalization via cyclobutane intermediates.