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22.6 ■ THE D IELS -A LDER REACTION 977

!
$ HOMO of
CH±CH $ the diene
(!2)
! $ The [4 + 2]
H2C ! CH2 cycloaddition
!
$ is allowed by
Both $
! a thermal
overlaps H2C±CH2 LUMO of pathway.
are $
the alkene
(!*)
!
bonding.

Both overlaps are bonding, so the reaction is thermally allowed.

PROBLEM 22.10
Use orbital drawings to show that the [4 ! 2] cycloaddition reaction is photochemically
forbidden.

PROBLEM 22.11
Use orbital drawings to determine whether the thermal [4 ! 4] cycloaddition reaction
is allowed or forbidden.

If another pi bond is added to either component of the previous cycloaddition, an

additional node is introduced into either the HOMO or the LUMO, resulting in the re-
action being thermally forbidden and photochemically allowed. Recognition of this pat-
tern enables the preferences for cycloadditions to be summarized in the chart below.
Number of Electron Pairs Allowed Cycloaddition
Odd Thermal
Even Photochemical
Examples of cycloaddition reactions are presented in the next two sections.

PROBLEM 22.12
Indicate how many electron pairs are involved in these reactions and determine whether
each reaction is allowed or forbidden:

h" #
a) b)

22.6 The Diels-Alder Reaction

The [4 ! 2] cycloaddition was discovered long before the theory of pericyclic reactions
was developed. It is more commonly known as the Diels-Alder reaction, named after O.
Diels and K. Alder, who shared the 1950 Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing this
reaction. The Diels-Alder reaction occupies a very important place among the tools of
the synthetic organic chemist because it provides a method for the construction of six-
membered rings from acyclic precursors with excellent control of stereochemistry.
In general, the Diels-Alder reaction involves the combination of a diene with an
alkene, termed a dienophile, to form a cyclohexene derivative. The simplest example,
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978 CHAPTER 22 ■ PERICYCLIC REACTIONS

the reaction of 1,3-butadiene (the diene) with ethene (the dienophile), is illustrated in
the following equation:

CH2
HC CH2
!
HC CH2
CH2
Diene Dienophile

The yield of cyclohexene in this particular reaction is not very high. In general, the
yields in the Diels-Alder reaction are much better if the diene and the dienophile are
substituted with groups of opposite polarity—that is, with electron-withdrawing groups
on one component and electron-donating groups on the other. The vast majority of ex-
amples that have been reported have employed electron-withdrawing groups on the
dienophile. Some examples of the many alkenes, substituted with electron-withdrawing
groups, that are excellent dienophiles in the Diels-Alder reaction are as follows:
N O
O O P CO2CH3
H C W
C
W
W
C

P
OCH2CH3 O X
C C
W
W
W
C H CO2CH3
O P
N
O

The following equation provides an example of the use of a good dienophile in a Diels-
Alder reaction that proceeds in excellent yield:
O O

140%C
! (90%)

Next, let’s address the stereochemistry of the reaction. If the orbitals overlap as il-
lustrated in Section 22.5, the addition is syn on both the diene and the dienophile. An
example showing that the addition is indeed syn on the dienophile is illustrated in the
following equation. In this reaction the cis-stereochemistry of the carboxylic acid
groups in the dienophile is preserved in the adduct:

H CO2H CO2H
40°C
!
H CO2H CO2H
(100%)

Now let’s consider the three-dimensional shape of the diene. To maximize the sta-
bilization due to conjugation, the p orbitals on the central carbons of a diene must be
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22.6 ■ THE D IELS -A LDER REACTION 979

parallel. For an acyclic diene, such as 1,3-butadiene, there are two planar conformations
for which these orbitals are parallel:

4
H 3 CH2 H CH2
C C
C C
H2C 2 H2 H CH2
1
s-trans s-cis
Unreactive Reactive

The conformation that has C-1 and C-4 of the double bonds on opposite sides of the
single bond between C-2 and C-3 is termed the s-trans conformation, whereas the con-
formation that has them on the same side of the single bond is called the s-cis confor-
mation. The s-trans conformation of 1,3-butadiene is more stable because it has less
steric strain—the larger groups are farther apart. Although the interconversion of these
two conformations is fast, only the s-cis conformation can react in the Diels-Alder cy-
cloaddition. In the s-trans conformation, C-1 and C-4 are too far apart to bond simulta-
neously to the dienophile.
The reactivity of a particular diene depends on the concentration of the s-cis
conformation in the equilibrium mixture. Factors that increase the concentration of
this conformation make the diene more reactive. As an example of this effect, consider
2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene:

4
H3C 3 CH2 H3C CH2
C C
C C
H2C 2 CH3 H3C CH2
1
s-trans s-cis
Unreactive Reactive

The methyl groups on C-2 and C-3 cause the s-trans and s-cis conformations to have
similar amounts of steric strain. Therefore, more of the s-cis conformer is present at
equilibrium for 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene than for 1,3-butadiene itself. For this rea-
son, 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene reacts about 10 times faster than 1,3-butadiene in the
Diels-Alder reaction.
In the case of 3-methylenecyclohexene the double bonds are held in the s-trans con-
formation. This compound cannot react as a diene in the Diels-Alder reaction.

3-Methylenecyclohexene

In contrast, the double bonds of cyclopentadiene are held in the s-cis conformation.
This makes cyclopentadiene so reactive as a diene in the Diels-Alder reaction that it
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980 CHAPTER 22 ■ PERICYCLIC REACTIONS

dimerizes at room temperature. One molecule reacts as the diene and the other as the
dienophile to form dicyclopentadiene, as shown in the following equation:
H H
H H
H
! or

H
H
Diene Dienophile H
Cyclopentadiene Dicyclopentadiene

Cyclopentadiene cannot be purchased because it is too reactive and dimerizes to dicy-

clopentadiene upon storage. If it is needed, it is prepared by heating dicyclopentadiene.
Cyclopentadiene is produced in a reverse Diels-Alder reaction. It is distilled from the
hot reaction mixture as it is formed and used immediately.

PROBLEM 22.13
Explain which of these isomers of 2,4-hexadiene is more reactive as a diene in the
Diels-Alder reaction:

The dimerization of cyclopentadiene introduces a new aspect of the Diels-Alder re-

action, the stereochemical relationship between the diene and the dienophile. When cy-
clopentadiene reacts as a diene, the newly formed six-membered ring of the product has
a one-carbon bridge connecting positions 1 and 4:
One-carbon bridge

R R'
4 Exo substituents
4
3 R' 3
R'
!
R 1
2 1
R' 2
R
Endo substituents
R
Groups that are cis to this bridge are termed exo substituents, and groups that are trans
to this bridge are termed endo substituents.
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22.6 ■ THE D IELS -A LDER REACTION 981

The dicyclopentadiene that is formed in the dimerization of cyclopentadiene

has the ring of the dienophile in an endo orientation to the cyclopentadiene ring
that acts as the diene. Usually, substituents on the dienophile are found to be endo in
the adduct if the substituents contain pi bonds. Another example is provided by
the reaction of cyclopentadiene and maleic anhydride illustrated in the following
equation:
O
H
H
! O O (100%)

O O

The orientation of the reactants that leads to the endo product is as follows:

1 O O
2 X X
O H O H
W

W
H
W

X X
O O H
Endo adduct
(observed)

and the orientation that leads to the exo product is as follows:

O O
X X
H
O O
H X H X
H
O O
Exo adduct
(not observed)

(Models may be useful to help you visualize these different orientations.) Because the
orientation leading to the endo adduct is more sterically congested than that leading to
the exo adduct, it is apparent that steric effects are not controlling the orientation.
Rather, it appears that a stabilizing interaction between the orbitals on C-2 and C-3 of
the diene with pi orbitals on the substituents of the dienophile causes the endo orienta-
tion to be preferred. As a result, the group with the p orbitals prefers to be cis to the
double bond bridge and trans to the one-carbon bridge.
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982 CHAPTER 22 ■ PERICYCLIC REACTIONS

MODEL BUILDING PROBLEM 22.4

Build these models:
a) The Diels-Alder adduct of ethene and cyclopentadiene. Identify the exo and endo
positions.
b) The endo Diels-Alder adduct of cyclopentadiene and maleic anhydride. Examine
the model for any steric strain and possible interaction between the pi systems of
the CC double bond and the anhydride group.
c) The exo Diels-Alder adduct of cyclopentadiene and maleic anhydride. Examine
the model for any steric strain and possible interaction between the pi systems of
the CC double bond and the anhydride group.

When both the diene and the dienophile are unsymmetrically substituted, regio-
isomeric products are possible. When the diene is substituted on C-1, the “ortho-like”
product is preferred:
N(CH2CH3)2 O (CH3CH2)2N O

OCH2CH3 20%C OCH2CH3

! (94%)

“ortho-like”
product

When the diene is substituted on C-2, the “para-like” product is preferred.

CH3O CH3O
! (75%)
H H

O O
“para-like”
product
These preferences can be rationalized by using arguments based on molecular orbital
theory, but these are beyond the scope of this book.
The Diels-Alder reaction is certainly one of the most important reactions in organic
chemistry. A few other interesting examples are provided in the following equations.
Benzene is not very reactive as a diene because the product would not be aromatic.
However, reactive dienophiles do add to the central ring of anthracene. In this case the
product, with two benzene rings, has not lost much aromatic resonance energy.

O H CO2H
X H
COH CO2H
110°C
!
COH
X (87%)
O
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22.6 ■ THE D IELS -A LDER REACTION 983

Intramolecular Diels-Alder reactions can be used to construct several rings simul-

taneously:

160%C
(95%)

The dienophile can be an alkyne:

CO2CH3
W CO2CH3
C 150%C
! (87%)
C
W CO2CH3
CO2CH3

Atoms other than carbon can even be part of the diene or dienophile:

H O OCH3 O OCH3
200%C
! (57%)

Click Coached Tutorial Problems

PROBLEM 22.14 to practice additional Diels-
Show the products of these reactions. Alder Reactions.

H
W CO2H
C # #
a) b)
P

! !
C
W HO2C
H
O2CCH3 O
NC CN
# #
c) ! d) !

O2CCH3
O

O O

# #
e) f) !

O
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984 CHAPTER 22 ■ PERICYCLIC REACTIONS

O
CO2H
OCH3 # #
g) ! h) !
EtO HO2C
O

NO2
# #
i) ! j) ! 2

CO2H
#
k) !
CO2H

22.7 Other Cycloaddition Reactions

As discussed in Section 22.5, the [2 ! 2] cycloaddition is photochemically allowed. The
yields are often only mediocre, but this reaction is still useful because there are few
good methods to prepare four-membered rings. As illustrated in the following equa-
tions, the cycloaddition can be used to dimerize two identical alkenes or to cyclize dif-
ferent alkenes:

h"
! (30%)

O O

CH2 h"
! (62%)
CH2
CPN
CPN

Intramolecular [2 ! 2] cycloadditions often give good yields of the adduct, as

shown in the following example:
O O

h"
(77%)