Chapter 10: Conjugation in Alkadienes and Allylic Systems

Diels-Alder Reaction (Nobel Prize in 1950)

Students often find it difficult to "spot" the diene and dienophile components in the Diels-Alder products, particularly when the products are bicyclic.  Try using the following JSMOL images to help you identify the starting material fragments within the structure of the product, they are all there and being able to "map" them over is a very useful skill for this reaction:

© Dr. Ian Hunt, Department of Chemistry