2,3-Dihydroferroceno[3,4]pyrrolo[2,1-b]thiazol-5(8b)-ones: Synthesis, Structure and DFT Study on the Mechanism of Chemo- and Diastereoslective Annulations of ()-2-Formylferrocenecarbonyl Fluoride and ()-2-Formylferrocenecarboxylic Acid.

By means of the annulation of easy-to-handle yet sufficiently reactive ()-2-formylferrocenecar- bonyl fluoride with the hydrochlorides of cysteamine and the methyl esters of enentiomer cysteines conducted in dichloromethane at room temperature in the presence of pyridine, the first members of 2,3-dihydroferroceno[3,4]pyrrolo[2,1-b]thiazol-5(8)-ones with the elements of planar- and central chirality were prepared as single enantiomers. An atom economic procedure was also elaborated for the synthesis of these organometallic heterocycles directly exploring ()-2-formylferrocenecarboxylic acid in situ activated by CDI and TFA, sequentially added to the reaction mixture. The relative and consequently, the absolute, configuration of the isolated diastereomers was determined by NMR measurements supported by DFT structural optimization. On the basis of the results of synthetic control experiments and a series of further DFT modelling studies, including energetic and MO analysis of the iminium intermediates, we propose a mechanism for the thiazolidine-forming annulations that proceed via primary -acylation followed by proton-mediated cyclocondensation and subsequent diastereoselective sulfhydryl-attack on the resulting iminium center.