Lewis Base Catalysis Based on Homoconjugate Addition: Rearrangement of Electron-Deficient Cyclopropanes and Their Derivatives

Cyclopropane is one of the most reactive functionalities owing to its intrinsic ring strain. Transition-metal catalysis and Lewis acid catalysis have been extensively used in ring openings of cyclopropanes; however, Lewis base-catalyzed activation of cyclopropanes remains largely unexplored. Upon nucleophilic attack with Lewis bases, cyclopropanes undergo ring cleavage in a manner known as homoconjugate addition to form zwitterionic intermediates, which have significant potential for reaction development but have garnered little attention. Here, we present a brief overview of this area, with an emphasis on our recent efforts on Lewis base-catalyzed rearrangement reactions of electron-deficient cyclopropanes using the homoconjugate addition process. 1 Introduction 2 DABCO-Catalyzed Cloke-Wilson Rearrangement of Cyclopropyl Ketones 3 Hydroxylamine-Mediated Tandem Cloke-Wilson/Boulton- Katritzky Reaction of Cyclopropyl Ketones 4 Phosphine-Catalyzed Rearrangement of Vinylcyclopropyl Ketones To Form Cycloheptenones 5 Phosphine-Catalyzed Rearrangement of Alkylidenecyclopropyl Ketones To Form Polysubstituted Furans and Dienones 6 Conclusion and Outlook.