Asymmetric Diels–Alder Reaction of α,β-Unsaturated Oxazolidin-2-one Derivatives Catalyzed by a Chiral Fe(III)-Bipyridine Diol Complex

An asymmetric FeIII-bipyridine diol catalyzed Diels–Alder reaction of α,β-unsaturated oxazolidin-2-ones has been developed. Among various FeII/FeIII salts, Fe(ClO4)3·6H2O was selected as the Lewis acid of choice. The use of a low catalyst loading (2 mol % of Fe(ClO4)3·6H2O and 2.4 mol % of Bolm’s ligand) afforded high yields (up to 99%) and high enantiomeric excesses (up to 98%) of endo-cycloadducts for the Diels–Alder reaction between cyclopentadiene and substituted acryloyloxazolidin-2-ones. Other noncyclic dienes led to decreased enantioselectivities. A proposed model supports the observed stereoinduction.