Synthesis 2013; 45(3): 406-412
DOI: 10.1055/s-0032-1316837
paper
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Regio- and Diastereoselective Synthesis of trans-2,3-Dihydrofuran Derivatives in an Aqueous Medium

Abu T. Khan*
Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati 781 039, India   Fax: +91(361)2582349   Email: atk@iitg.ernet.in
,
Mohan Lal
Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati 781 039, India   Fax: +91(361)2582349   Email: atk@iitg.ernet.in
,
R. Sidick Basha
Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati 781 039, India   Fax: +91(361)2582349   Email: atk@iitg.ernet.in
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Received: 07 October 2012

Accepted after revision: 05 December 2012

Publication Date:
04 January 2013 (online)


This work is dedicated to Professor K. C. Majumdar, Department of Chemistry, Kalyani University, West Bengal, India on the occasion of his 68th birthday.

Abstract

A wide variety of fused trans-2,3-dihydrofuran derivatives were synthesized through a one-pot three-component reaction of an aromatic aldehyde, a cyclic β-diketo compound, and an in situ-generated pyridinium ylide in refluxing. The pyridinium ylide was formed from either 2-bromo-1-phenylethanone or 4-nitrobenzyl bromide and pyridine in the presence of 10 mol% of sodium hydroxide. Pyridine plays crucial role in forming the pyridinium salt, which, in turn, forms a nitrogen ylide in the presence of sodium hydroxide. The ylide assists a Michael-initiated ring-closure reaction, but is not itself incorporated in the final product. The protocol is environmentally acceptable because no organic solvent is involved at any stage. Furthermore, the method is highly diastereoselective, gives good yields, and does not involve extensive workup procedures or chromatographic separations, as the desired products can be isolated by filtration and drying.

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