From Pagodanes to Dodecahedranes - Search for a Serviceable Access to the Parent (C 20 H 20 ) Hydrocarbon ** **Dedicated to Professor W. von E. Doering on the occasion of his 80th birthday. H.P. very fondly remembers his two post-doc years at Yale University (1957–59).
novel SN2 pagodane → dodecahedrane routes a preparatively potent access to the parent pentagonal dodecahedrane (2) was explored. The one-pot catalytic procedure (Pd/C/H2) starting from an eightfold functionalized secopagodane (14, C20H12Br6 (CO2 CH3)2) excells in shortness but, rather erratic (33–53%), falls out of the competition. The longer route via 1,6-dicarboxyl/dibromo dodecahedranes (35, 22)