Theoretical investigation on the Pt(ІІ)-catalyzed [3+2] cycloaddition reactions of propargyl ether derivatives with n-butyl vinyl ether

By carrying out density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we have performed a detailed mechanism study on the Pt(II)-catalyzed [3+2] cycloaddition reactions of two propargyl ether derivatives, 2-(3-methoxyprop-1-ynyl) aniline derivative (1A) and phenol derivative (2A), with n-butyl vinyl ether. The calculated results show that the two reactions proceed according to similar elementary step mechanism. For both the two reactions, the elimination of the methoxy group is the rate-determining step. The present results provide a theoretical validation for the mechanism proposed by Iwasawa et al.