1-Oxa-2,3-cyclohexadiene (\"2H-isopyran\"): a strained heterocyclic allene undergoing cycloaddition reactions with characteristic typo-, regio- and stereoselectivities

1-Oxa-2,3-cyclohexadiene (I) can be readily generated by treatment of 5-bromo-3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran with potassium tert-butoxide in the presence of 18-crown-6 and can be trapped with dienes or olefins. Thus, the treatment of I with furan gave 50% yield of Diels-Alder adduct II, whereas with 1,1-diphenylethylene I gave 43% of the [2+2]cycloadduct III. The remarkable regio- and stereoselectivities with which [4+2] and [2+2] adducts are formed suggests a concerted, non-radical cycloaddn. mechanism. [on SciFinder (R)]