Stereoselective synthesis of side chain-functionalized tetrahydropyrans from 5-hexenols

Molecular oxygen stereoselectively converts 5-hexenols into 2,6-trans-, 2,5-trans-, and 2,4-cis-derivatives of 2-methyltetrahydropyran via oxidative cyclization/radical functionalization cascades, when activated by fluoro-substituted cobalt(II) bis-(β-diketonate) complexes in solutions of cyclohexa-1,4-diene (CHD). Aerobic 5-hexenol oxidations in solutions of bromotrichloromethane and CHD furnish products of 6-exo-bromocyclization, as exemplified by synthesis of diastereomerically pure 2,4,6-substituted tetrahydropyrans. The cobalt method extends to intermolecular alkene/alkanol cross-coupling and to multi-component reactions between dimethyl fumarate, CHD, a 5-hexenol, and dioxygen, providing α-tetrahydropyranyl-2-methyl succinates in synthetically useful yields.