Boronyl Radical-Catalyzed Intermolecular (4 + 2) Cycloaddition of Cyclobutanes and Alkenes: Synthesis of Polysubstituted Cyclohexanes

The cyclohexane skeleton is ubiquitous in small-molecule drugs and bioactive natural products. However, there remains a lack of synthetic methods for polysubstituted cyclohexanes that simultaneously satisfy the requirements of readily available starting materials, high atom economy, and low-cost catalysts, which to a certain extent limits the application of this type of skeleton in the field of drug research and development. Herein, we report the first example of a boron radical-catalyzed intermolecular (4 + 2) cycloaddition reaction between cyclobutanes and alkenes, a strategy that provides an efficient and general method for the synthesis of polysubstituted cyclohexanes. This reaction exhibits broad substrate scope, being compatible with monosubstituted, 1,1-disubstituted, and trisubstituted alkenes and can selectively construct tri-, tetra-, and pentasubstituted cyclohexane derivatives in moderate-to-excellent yields.