Oxidative Cyclization of 1,5-Dienes with Hydrogen Peroxide Catalyzed by an Osmium(III) Complex: Synthesis of cis-Tetrahydrofurans.

Stereoselective oxidative cyclization of 1,5-dienes with hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by [Os(III)(OH)(H2O)(L-N4Me2)](PF6)2 (1: L-N4Me2 = N,N'-dimethyl-2,11-diaza-[3,3](2,6)pyridinophane) is explored. 1,5-Dienes involving geraniol derivatives are converted to the corresponding tetrahydrofurans in modest to high yields. The products exclusively have the cis-conformation with respect to the substituents at the 2- and 5-positions of the tetrahydrofuran ring. The products also have a syn-conformation with respect to the furan oxygen atom and the hydroxyl groups. Mechanistic studies including a direct reaction of the oxo-hydroxo-osmium(V) complex, 2, with a dihydroxylated geraniol derivative are performed.