Addition of Azides

Beside the fact that azide addition to C50 is a convenient method for functionalizing fullerenes, the iminofullerenes also serve as precursors in the synthesis of nitrogen heterofullerenes [171]. Their chemistry is described in more detail in Chapter 12. 

Azides are easily prepared by nucleophilic substitution of alkylhalogenides with sodium azide and the yields of azide additions to CgQ are generally sufficient. Thus the functionalization of CgQ via this pathway leads to a broad range of products. Some examples are shown in Table 4.6. 

Reaction of 175 with Cgg yields a hydroxy-functionalized fullerene that can be further derivatized. This hydroxy-fullerene was coupled with a porphyrine unit via a polyethyleneglycol-Hnker. This linker can be arranged similarly to a crown-ether to complex metal cations. Complexation is used to tune the distance between the porphyrin imit and the Cgg-moiety and thus tune the donor-acceptor properties of this porphyrin-fuUerene hybrid [177]. 

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This following article was sent to Strike by Osmium and Feck (are they the same person ). It involves the direct addition of azide to a terminal alkene (you-know-who) by the in situ production of the reactant mercury (II) azide from mercuric acetate and sodium azide (please don t ask) [80]. 

Some 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions to hetero ft bond systems have been reported, including a couple of examples of additions of azides to the activated nitrile function of tnfluoroacetonitrile [30, 3I (equation 27)... 

Because of resonance stabilization of the anion, a tet-nazolyl moiety is often employed successfully as a bioisosteric replacement for a carboxy group. An example in this subclass is provided by azosemide (27). Benzonitrile analogue is prepared by phosphorus oxychloride dehydration of the corresponding benzamide. Next, a nucleophilic aromatic displacement reaction of the fluorine atom leads to The synthesis concludes with the 1,3-dipolar addition of azide to the nitrile liinction to produce the diuretic azosemi de (27). ... 

Among the experiments that have been cited for the viewpoint that borderline behavior results from simultaneous SnI and Sn2 mechanisms is the behavior of 4-methoxybenzyl chloride in 70% aqueous acetone. In this solvent, hydrolysis (i.e., conversion to 4-methoxybenzyl alcohol) occurs by an SnI mechanism. When azide ions are added, the alcohol is still a product, but now 4-methoxybenzyl azide is another product. Addition of azide ions increases the rate of ionization (by the salt effect) but decreases the rate of hydrolysis. If more carbocations are produced but fewer go to the alcohol, then some azide must he formed by reaction with carbocations—an SnI process. However, the rate of ionization is always less than the total rate of reaction, so some azide must also form by an Sn2 mechanism. Thus, the conclusion is that SnI and Sn2 mechanisms operate simultaneously. ... 

Conjugate addition of azide ion to dihydropyran-2,5-diones affords the 3-amino derivative <96SL341>, whilst reaction with bisnucleophiles provides a route to piperazines, thiazines and diazepines <96JHC703>. 

A series of soil microcosms were used to study the biodegradation and bioavailability of pyrene during long-term incubation. The nonextractable fraction of -labeled pyrene that had been introduced into pristine soil and incubated with or without the addition of azide was substantially greater in the latter (Guthrie and Pfaender 1998). It was also shown that microbial activity produced a number of unidentified polar metabolites that might plausibly be involved in the association. 

Addition of azide ion to conjugated systems can be carried out by using NaN3 and acetic acid in water (Eq. 10.18).38 Some reactions were very rapid while others took 1 to 3 days to complete. Lewis base was found to catalyze such conjugate additions of azide ion to cyclic enones in water.39... 

Dipolar addition to alkenes also occurs with species other than ozone, often to give products much more stable than the labile molozonides (54), e.g. addition of azides (61) to give dihydrotriazoles (62) ... 

A theoretical study at a HF/3-21G level of stationary structures in view of modeling the kinetic and thermodynamic controls by solvent effects was carried out by Andres and coworkers [294], The reaction mechanism for the addition of azide anion to methyl 2,3-dideaoxy-2,3-epimino-oeL-eiythrofuranoside, methyl 2,3-anhydro-a-L-ciythrofuranoside and methyl 2,3-anhydro-P-L-eiythrofuranoside were investigated. The reaction mechanism presents alternative pathways (with two saddle points of index 1) which act in a kinetically competitive way. The results indicate that the inclusion of solvent effects changes the order of stability of products and saddle points. From the structural point of view, the solvent affects the energy of the saddles but not their geometric parameters. Other stationary points geometries are also stable. 

Andres, J., Bohm, S., Moliner, V., Silla, E. and Tunon, I. Atheoretical study of stationary structures for the addition of azide anion to tetrafuranosides modeling the kinetic and thermodynamic controls by solvent effects, J. Phys. Chem., 98 (1994), 6955-6960... 

Finally (pathway e, Scheme 5.56), triazoline 103 formed by cyclo addition of azide to glycal 1 can be photolytically converted into a 1,2-aziridine intermediate 104, from which 2-benzylamino-2-deoxy-P-glucosides can be formed on addition of an alcohol and catalytic scandium triflate [176]. 

Fig. 1 for stepwise solvolysis of R-X is due to the increase in ks (s ), with decreasing stability of the carbocation intermediate, relative to the constant value of az (M s ) for the diffusion-limited addition of azide anion. The lifetime for the carbocation intermediate eventually becomes so short that essentially no azide ion adduct forms by diffusion-controlled trapping, because addition of solvent to R occurs faster than escape of the carbocation from the solvent cage followed by addition of azide ion (k Now, the nucleophile adduct must form through a... 

Azide ion is a modest leaving group in An + Dn nucleophilic substitution reactions, and at the same time a potent nucleophile for addition to the carbocation reaction intermediate. Consequently, ring-substituted benzaldehyde g m-diazides (X-2-N3) undergo solvolysis in water in reactions that are subject to strong common-ion inhibition by added azide ion from reversible trapping of an o -azido carbocation intermediate (X-2 ) by diffusion controlled addition of azide anion (Scheme... 

Nugent, W. A. (1992) Chiral Lewis acid catalysis Enantioselective addition of azide to meso-epoxides., J. Am. Chem. Soc, 114 2768-2769. 

Finally, addition of azide to methemocyanln. Figure 5 (Bottom), yields a charge transfer spectrum which shows an Ap B. pattern very similar to the spectrum of the y-1,3 azide model complexes. Thus azide binds In an analogous y-1,3 bridging geometry to the binuclear site In methemocyanln. 

Examples of Addition of Azides to Activated Meth-vlene Compounds (Scheme 6)... 

From Azides and x-Acylphosphorus ylids Addition of azides to a-acylphosphorus ylids takes place at room temperature in dichloromethane or at 80°C in benzene, giving triazolines from which a phosphine oxide is spontaneously eliminated. " The ylids exist almost exclusively in the cis-enolate configuration, and a mechanism involving concerted 1,3-dipolar addition has been proposed (Scheme 12) on the basis that there is a low entropy of activation for the reaction, and that the reaction rate is insensitive to changes in solvent polarity. ... 

Sodium azide also adds to olefins of this t3rpe to give w-triazoles in fairly good yields. A mechanism involving nucleophilic displacement of the substituent X by azide, followed by cyclization of the vinyl azide in the presence of azide ions, has been suggested. An alternative mechanism involves conjugate addition of azide to the double bond, cyclization of the resulting anion, and aromatization. 

An azido group could also be introduced by 1,4-addition of azide ion onto 1-Me and 2d-Me in aqueous acetic acid. The corresponding azides were isolated in 56 and 62% yield, respectively [15b]. 

Systematic investigations of twofold additions of malonates to C70 revealed that the second addition takes place at one of the five a-bonds of the unfunctionalized pole [17, 26], With achiral, C2v-symmerical malonate addends, three constitutionally isomeric bisadducts are formed An achiral one (C2v-symmetrical 1), and two chiral ones (C2-symmetrical 2 and 3), which are obtained as pairs of enantiomers with an inherently chiral addition pattern (Figure 13.5). Twofold addition of chiral malonates leads to the formation of five optically active isomers, two constitutionally isomeric pairs of C2-symmetrical diastereomers and a third constitutional C2-symmetrical isomer (Figure 13.5). Twofold additions of azides to C70 lead to diazabis[70]homo-fullerenes, which served as starting material for the synthesis of bis-(aza[70]-fullerenyl) (Cg9N)2 (Chapter 12) [27]. As further bisadditions, addition reaction to C70 [2+2]cycloaddition of electron-rich bis(diethylamino)ethyne and 1-alkylthio-2-(diethylamino)ethynes [28] and the addition of transition metal fragments have been reported [29-32],... 

Addition of azide ion and metal azides to nitriles and nitrilium ions... 

The addition of azide ion to nitriles remains the main synthetic route to 5-substituted tetrazoles. The distinction between this approach and the imidoyl azide route (Section 4.17.9.1.1) is blurred... 

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