Rhodium-catalyzed ring-opening reactions of heterobicyclic akenes with heteroarene nucleophiles: an experimental and computational investigation

We present an experimental and computational investigation into the rhodium-catalyzed ring-opening reactions of heterobicyclic alkenes with heteroarene nucleophiles. The reaction provides a facile route to trans-substituted dihydronaphthalen-1-ol and 1-amino-dihydronaphthalene products in up to a 95% yield as a single diastereomer. This reaction is 100% atom-economic and offers C–C bond formation without prior functionalization of the coupling partners. The mechanism and origins of selectivity were probed with density functional theory (DFT) at the MN15/Def2-TZVPP level of theory. The energetic barriers between iridium- and rhodium-catalyzed pathways were compared via DFT. Additionally, the reactivity and energetic barriers across diverse heterobicyclic alkenes and heteroarenes were calculated to unveil their relative reactivity.