Abstract
The formal 1,3‐cycloaddition of 2‐diazocyclohexane‐1,3‐diones 1a–1d to acyclic and cyclic enol ethers in the presence of Rh^II^‐catalysts to afford dihydrofurans has been investigated. Reaction with a cis/trans mixture of 1‐ethoxyprop‐1‐ene (13a) yielded the dihydrofuran 14a with a cis/trans ratio of 85 : 15, while that with (Z)‐1‐ethoxy‐3,3,3‐trifluoroprop‐1‐ene (13b) gave the cis‐product 14b exclusively. The stereochemical outcome of the reaction is consistent with a concerted rather than stepwise mechanism for cycloaddition. The asymmetric cycloaddition of 2‐diazocyclohexane‐1,3‐dione (1a) or 2‐diazodimedone (=2‐diazo‐5,5‐dimethylcyclohexane‐1,3‐dione; 1b) to furan and dihydrofuran was investigated with a representative selection of chiral, nonracemic Rh^II^ catalysts, but no significant enantioselectivity was observed, and the reported enantioselective cycloadditions of these diazo compounds could not be reproduced. The absence of enantioselectivity in the cycloadditions of 2‐diazocyclohexane‐1,3‐diones is tentatively explained in terms of the Hammond postulate. The transition state for the cycloaddition occurs early on the reaction coordinate owing to the high reactivity of the intermediate metallocarbene. An early transition state is associated with low selectivity. In contrast, the transition state for transfer of stabilized metallocarbenes occurs later, and the reactions exhibit higher selectivity.