AbstractAn organocatalytic route has been developed for the isomerization of exo‐vinylene carbonates (exo‐VCs) to endo‐vinylene carbonates (endo‐VCs). The exo‐VC starting material can easily be obtained from propargylic alcohols via cyclization with carbon dioxide. In this study, these exo‐VCs are shown to isomerize to the thermodynamically more stable endo‐VCs in the presence of an N‐heterocyclic base and phenol. Density functional theory (DFT) studies were conducted to elucidate the mechanism, tackling difficulties of the description of charge separation steps. This isomerization process delivers an ample diversity of endo‐VCs in good to excellent yields and chemoselectivities under mild reaction conditions.
摘要 开发了一种将外乙烯基碳酸酯(exo-VCs)异构化为内乙烯基碳酸酯(endo-VCs)的有机催化路线。外乙烯基碳酸酯起始原料可以很容易地从丙炔醇中通过与二氧化碳的环化反应获得。本研究表明,在 N-杂环碱和苯酚存在下,这些外-VC 会异构化成热力学上更稳定的内-VC。为了阐明其机理,我们进行了密度泛函理论(DFT)研究,以解决电荷分离步骤描述方面的难题。在温和的反应条件下,这一异构化过程产生了多种多样的内 VCs,产率和化学选择性都非常好。