Stereoselectivity in oxyallyl-furan (4+3) cycloadditions: control of intermediate conformations and dispersive stabilisation in cycloadditions involving oxazolidinone auxiliaries

Chiral oxazolidinones were previously thought to control cycloaddition stereoselectivity by steric crowding of one face of the substrate. We have discovered that in (4 + 3) cycloaddition reactions of oxyallyls, the stereoinduction is caused instead by stabilising CH-pi interactions that lead to reaction at the more crowded face of the oxyallyl. Density functional theory calculations on the (4 + 3) cycloadditions of oxazolidinone-substituted oxyallyls with furans establish unexpected transition state conformations and a new explanation of selectivity.