A diastereoconvergent formal nucleophilic substitution of bromocyclopropanes with oxygen- and sulfur-based nucleophiles is described. The reaction proceeds via in situ formation of a highly reactive cyclopropene intermediate and subsequent diastereoselective addition of a nucleophile across the strained C═C bond. Three alternative means of controlling the diastereoselectivity of addition have been demonstrated: (1) thermodynamically driven epimerization of enolizable carboxamides, (2) steric control by bulky substituents, and (3) directing effect of carboxamide or carboxylate functions.

Novel transition-metal-catalyzed addition of P-H entities across the cyclopropene double bond has been developed. This transformation allows for mild and efficient preparation of phosphorus-containing cyclopropanes in good yields and high degrees of diastereoselectivity.

A highly diastereoselective formal nucleophilic substitution of bromocyclopropanes with oxygen- and nitrogen-based nucleophiles was demonstrated. The reaction proceeds via a base-assisted dehydrohalogenation producing a cyclopropene intermediate, which subsequently undergoes addition of a pronucleophile across the strained double bond. Very high chemoselectivity toward addition of primary and secondary alkoxides, as well as N-nucleophiles, in the presence of tert-butoxide base was observed, whereas phenoxides did not undergo addition under these reaction conditions. Facial selectivity of the addition can be efficiently controlled either by sterics or through a directing effect of an amide, carboxylate, and an o-aminomethylphenol function. Employment of tethered optically active amino alcohols as pronucleophiles allowed for efficient assembly of homochiral bicyclic compounds.

A novel method for the assembly of medium heterocycles via an intramolecular nucleophilic addition to cyclopropenes generated in situ from the corresponding bromocyclopropanes is described. The exo-trig nucleophilic cyclizations were shown to proceed very efficiently and in a highly diastereoselective fashion affording cis-fused bicyclic products possessing 7 to 10-membered medium rings; starting from a diastereomeric mixtures of bromocyclopropanes.