Alkenes sydnone cycloadditions

The addition to alkenes normally leads to unstable adducts that lose carbon dioxide under the reaction conditions. The intramolecular cycloaddition of the sydnone (30) takes place at room temperature, however (Equation (5)) and the cycloadduct (31) has been characterized <86HCA927>. The unstable species formed by the loss of carbon dioxide are also azomethine ylides. It is therefore possible for a second 1,3-dipolar addition to take place, as illustrated in Scheme 6 for the reaction of 3-phenylsydnone with Al-phenylmaleimide <86TL317,92JA8414>. This 2 1 addition has been used as the basis of a synthesis of polyimides. Imides of the type (32) were used as the dipolarophiles and their reaction with 3-phenylsydnone gave linear polymers <87MM726>. 

Isosydnones (146) react with alkynes to give pyrazoles (150). For example, 4,5-diphenylisosydnone (146, R = R = Ph) and ethyl phenyl propiolate gives 4-ethoxycarbonyl-l,3,5-triphenylpyrazole (150, R = R = R = Ph, R = CO Et) identical with the product from 4,5-diphenylsydnone (1, R = R = Ph). The rate of 1,3-cycloaddition for isosydnones (146) is relatively slow in comparison with sydnones (1).2o, 04 number of other cycloaddition reactions of isosydnones with alkenes, alkynes, and carbonyl compounds have been reported. ... 

Meier and Heimgartner (208) achieved an intramolecular sydnone-alkene cycloaddition to give adduct 306 in 50% yield. Other tether lengths did not so react, but photolysis of these other sydnones led to novel fused pyrazoles via decarboxylation and subsequent cycloadditions from the subsequent nitrile-imines. 

Phenylsydnone is the prototype of that class of mesoionic compounds called sydnones. On acidic hydrolysis it produces phenylhydrazine, whereas basic hydrolysis regenerates N-nitroso-N-phenylglycine. This sydnone undergoes a variety of electrophilic substitutions,3,4 8-19 including mercuration n-13,16 and formylation,19 with an ease comparable to thiophene, and a number of 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with numerous alkenes,18 18 alkynes,17 and quinones8 to form, with loss of carbon dioxide, a variety of pyrazole derivatives. 

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