6533b854fe1ef96bd12ae7f1

RESEARCH PRODUCT

A DFT Study of the Domino Inter [4 + 2]/Intra [3 + 2] Cycloaddition Reactions of Nitroalkenes with Enol Ethers

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The molecular mechanism of the domino inter [4 + 2]/intra [3 + 2] cycloaddition reactions of nitroalkenes with enol ethers to give nitroso acetal adducts has been characterized using density functional theory methods with the B3LYP functional and the 6-31G* basis set. The presence of Lewis acid catalyst and solvent effects has been taken into account to model the experimental environment. These domino processes comprise two consecutive cycloaddition reactions:  the first one is an intermolecular [4 + 2] cycloaddition of the enol ether to the nitroalkene to give a nitronate intermediate, which then affords the final nitroso acetal adduct through an intramolecular [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction. The intermolecular [4 + 2] cycloaddition can be considered as a nucleophilic attack of the enol ether to the conjugated position of the nitroalkene, with concomitant ring closure and without intervention of an intermediate. For this cycloaddition process, the presence of the Lewis acid favors the delocalization of t...