Iodine-Catalyzed Diels-Alder Reactions

The Diels-Alder cycloaddition is the most popular pericyclic reaction with numerous applications in synthesis and catalysis. We now demonstrate that we can perform this reaction under mild and metal-free conditions relying on molecular iodine as the catalyst. Cycloadditions with cyclohexadiene, cyclopentadiene, or isoprene with various dienophiles can be performed typically within minutes in moderate to good yields and high endo selectivity. The mechanistic studies including kinetic and DFT investigations clearly indicate a halogen-bond activation and rule out other modes of activation. Furthermore, iodine performs equally well as typical metallic Lewis acids like AlCl3, SnCl4, or TiCl4.