Acid-catalyzed ring-opening reactions of a cyclopropanated 3-aza-2-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-ene with alcohols

The acid-catalyzed ring-opening reactions of a cyclopropanated 3-aza-2-oxabicylic alkene using alcohol nucleophiles were investigated. Although this acid-catalyzed ring-opening reaction did not cleave the cyclopropane unit as planned, this represent the first examples of ring-openings of cyclopropanated 3-aza-2-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]alkenes that lead to the cleavage of the C–O bond instead of the N–O bond. Different acid catalysts were tested and it was found that pyridinium toluenesulfonate in methanol gave the best yields in the ring-opening reactions. The scope of the reaction was successfully expanded to include primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohol nucleophiles. Through X-ray crystallography, the stereochemistry of the product was determined which confirmed an SN2-like mechanism to form the ring-opened product.