Authors: Huw M. L. Davies , Douglas G. Stafford , Brian D. Doan , and Jeffrey H. Houser
J. Am. Chem. Soc.,
1998, 120 (14), 3326–3331
Decomposition of vinyldiazoacetates by rhodium(II) (N-dodecylbenzenesulfonyl)prolinate (Rh2(S-DOSP)4, 1) in the presence of dienes results in a direct and highly enantioselective method for the formation of cis-divinylcyclopropanes. Combination of this process with a subsequent Cope rearrangement results in a highly enantioselective synthesis of a variety of cycloheptadienes containing multiple stereogenic centers.