Addition to Nitrogen-containing Multiple Bonds

The rate constants for the 5-exo and 6-exo cyclization of alkyl radicals on to imines and oxime ethers have been reported, as have the cyclizations of alkyl radicals on to 

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Addition to Oxygen-containing Multiple Bonds. Addition to Nitrogen-containing Multiple Bonds.. . . ... 

Nitriles. Nitriles can be prepared by a number of methods, including ( /) the reaction of alkyl haHdes with alkaH metal cyanides, (2) addition of hydrogen cyanide to a carbon—carbon, carbon—oxygen, or carbon—nitrogen multiple bond, (2) reaction of hydrogen cyanide with a carboxyHc acid over a dehydration catalyst, and (4) ammoxidation of hydrocarbons containing an activated methyl group. For reviews on the preparation of nitriles see references 14 and 15. 

Intramolecular nitrone cycloadditions often require higher temperatures as nitrones react more sluggishly with alkenes than do nitrile oxides and the products contain a substituent on nitrogen which may not be desirable. Conspicuously absent among various nitrones employed earlier have been NH nitrones, which are tautomers of the more stable oximes. However, Grigg et al. [58 a] and Padwa and Norman [58b] have demonstrated that under certain conditions oximes can undergo addition to electron deficient olefins as Michael acceptors, followed by cycloadditions to multiple bonds. We found that intramolecular oxime-olefin cycloaddition (lOOC) can occur thermally via an H-nitrone and lead to stereospecific introduction of two or more stereocenters. This is an excellent procedure for the stereoselective introduction of amino alcohol functionality via N-0 bond cleavage. 

Carbene reactions provide a versatile approach to the synthesis of five-membered nitrogen-containing rings. Of particular importance here are intramolecular insertion of a carbene into C — H and N — H bonds, addition onto multiple carbon-carbon bonds, intermediate formation of ylides as a result of carbene addition onto the heteroatom followed by rearrangement, cycloaddition, and cyclization. 

Compounds containing protic hydrogen atoms, e.g., inorganic [5 to 7] and organic acids [8], alcohols [5, 8], thiols [8], and amines [8], add across the B-N multiple bond. The proton is always added to the imino nitrogen atom. Also, these 1,2-additions are controlled by the steric requirements of the substituents of the reactants. For example, H2O will hydrolyze amino-iminoboranes readily, while 2,4,6-tri-f-butylphenol will not react at all [2]. 

The substituent R determines the reactivity of the isocyanate. Aromatic isocyanates react faster than aliphatic isocyanates, and carbonyl and sulfonyl isocyanates are considerably more reactive than the former. Isocyanate groups attached to oxygen or nitrogen are not stable in their monomeric forms. In cycloaddition reactions, isocyanates react preferentially across their C=N bonds, but additions across the C=0 bonds are also encountered. In this respect, isocyanates resemble ketenes (see Chapter 4, Section 4.1.). Suitable substrates for cycloaddition reactions are carbon multiple bonds (acetylenes, olefins, ketenes, etc.), C=N bond-containing compounds (imines, amidines, ketenimines, azines, carbodiimldes, etc.), C=0 bonds and C=S bond-containing substrates and phosphorus multiple-bond-containing substrates. Cycloaddition reactions of isocyanates across multiple metal bonds are also known. 

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