Iridium Catalyzed Carbocyclizations: Efficient (5+2) Cycloadditions of Vinylcyclopropanes and Alkynes.
Third-row transition metal catalysts remain a largely untapped resource in cycloaddition reactions for the formation of medium-sized rings. Herein, we report the first examples of iridium-catalyzed inter- and intramolecular vinylcyclopropane (VCP)-alkyne (5+2) cycloadditions. DFT modeling suggests that catalysis by iridium(I) proceeds through a mechanism similar to that previously reported for rho
