Highly regio- and diastereoselective construction of spirocyclic compounds via palladium-catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition of vinyl methylene cyclic carbonates with pyrrolidinones

Abstract

A palladium-catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of vinyl methylene cyclic carbonates with pyrrolidinones was developed. This protocol demonstrates remarkable versatility, enabling the facile construction of diverse [5,5]-spirolactam scaffolds in excellent yields with outstanding diastereoselectivity. The synthetic utility of this protocol was further demonstrated through productive transformations of the resulting spirolactam products, highlighting their potential as valuable intermediates for complex molecule synthesis.