(3R,4R)-4-(Hydroxymethyl)pyrrolidin-3-ol (1), which is a useful
intermediate for the synthesis of various bioactive molecules,
has been synthesized in 51% overall yield by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction from the dipolarophile, (E)-3-benzyloxypropenoyl-(2‘S)-bornane-10,2-sultam (5), and the achiral ylide
precursor, N-(benzyl)-N-(methoxymethyl)-N-(trimethylsilylmethyl)amine (6), without using chromatography and the
subsequent reduction with LAH and catalytic hydrogenation.
The diastereomers 7 and 8 were separated by crystallization,
and efficient procedures were developed for the subsequent
reactions to afford 1.