Asymmetric Permanganate Oxidative Cyclization of 1,4-Dienoates Enables Direct Access to Chiral Tetrahydrofurans

The tetrahydrofuran (THF) motif is widely distributed in marine natural products and medicinally important molecules. In this paper, we report an endo,exo-type oxidative cyclization of 1,4-dienes, which provides direct access to trans-2,5-disubstituted THF rings. Through permanganate oxidation controlled by chiral quaternary ammonium salts, catalytic asymmetric oxidative cyclization of 1,4-dienoates was achieved, providing a series of THFs with structural diversity in high enantioselectivities.