Benzocyclobutenes, 1-substituted, from

Benzenesulfonic anhydride, 46, 88 Benzocyclobutenes, 1-substituted, from addition of a side-chain carban-ion to an aryne bond, 48, 55 Benzofuran, 46,28 Benzoic acid, 2-phenylethyl ester,... 

An investigation established a relationship between the intensity of the [M - C02] ion in the spectra of substituted isochroman-3-ones (29) and the yield of the corresponding benzocyclobutene (29a), obtained from flash vacuum pyrolysis of (29 equation 5) (77JOC2989). 

Other benzo-fused carbocycles could be prepared in moderate yield by a similar strategy. Isomerically pure 3-substituted benzocyclobutenes or 5-substituted tetralins, 211, were prepared by a five-step sequence from the appropriate a-(2-fluorophenyl)-[Pg.101]

A relatively new route to benzocyclobutenes, without the involvement of o-quinodimethanes, is the cobalt-catalyzed co-oligomerization of bis(trimethylsilyl)acetylene with 1,5-hexadiynes, (580) + (581) - (582) (Scheme 133). Despite its elegance, and the potential to modify the silyl groups, this method suffers from limitations in providing benzocyclobutenes with well-defined substitution patterns. In this... 

A major initial limitation of the benzocyclobutene approach to o-quinodimethanes was the lack of efficient, large-scale syntheses for many specifically substituted derivatives. Fortunately, recent developments have lemov much of this impediment. Q>nceptually, the synthesis of benzocyclobutenes from aromatic precursors can be envisaged in only a limited number of ways. These include [2 -i- 2] cycloadditions involving benzynes and alkenes, intramolecular cyclization on to a benzyne, cyclizations involving arene anions, and electrocyclic closure of o-quinodimethanes. Benzocyclobutene derivatives can also be prepared by aromatization of bicyclo[4.2.0]octanes. Detailed discussion of variations to these approaches can be found in the cited reviews. The cobalt catalyzed co-oligomerization of 1,5-hexadiynes with al-kynes, especially bis(trimethylsilyl)acetylene, has also been employed for the preparation of specifically substituted benzocyclobutenes. In the latter case the cyclobutenes are often not isolated but converted directly to o-quinodimethanes and subsequent products. ... 

Stevens and Bisacchi have carefully examined the trailing of benzynes, generated fiom a number of aryl bromides and sodium amide in THF, with 1,1-dimethylethylene and report procedures which afford 6 6% yields of 1,1-dimethoxycyclobutenes, e.g. (131). These compounds are hydrolyzed quantitatively to the corresponding benzocyclobutenones (132). Excellent regioselectivity was obtained with unsym-metrical benzynes derived from methoxy substituted bromobenzenes due to the polarized nature of the benzyne intermediate. Steric effects also influence regioselectivity o-bromotoluene afforded a 3 1 mixture of 3-methyl- and 6-methyl-benzocyclobutene. 

Only a few facts about the chemical reactivity of the parent [6]radialene (5) are known - certainly because it is not easyto handle - but they reveal its character as a triple 1,3-diene system (catalytic hydrogenation, triple 1,4-addition of Br2, [4+2] cycloaddition reactions [5, 6]). Much more is known about the alkyl-substituted radialenes 113 and 72, in particular due to the detailed investigations of Hopf and coworkers [88]. Because of the presence of three hexa-2,4-diene subunits in the latter radialenes, it is not surprising that isomerization pathways via sigmat-ropic and electrocyclic reactions exist. Thus, in a gas-phase thermolysis of 113, products 125-129 were formed in relative yields that depended on the reaction temperature (e.g., 127 was the major product at 260 C and 129 at 360 °C). The mechanistic scenario includes the isomerization 113 125 by three consecutive 1,5-H shifts, and the sequence 127 128 129 [88]. The permethylated [6]radi-alene (72) is thermally much more stable than 113 the product mixture obtained from its pyrolysis at 350 "C was dominated by benzocyclobutene 130 (an analog of 127), which, however, could be isolated in only 17% yield [88] (Scheme 4.27). 

Photodecomposition of some ortfeo-substituted aryldiazonium ions leads to unusual reaction products due to hydrogen atom transfer between the ortho-substituent and the radical center derived by loss of nitrogen from the diazonium ion. Thus, 2-diethylaminobenzenediazonium salts yield N-ethylaniline via the intermediate 3. Deuterium is not incorporated into the benzene ring from either DjO or CD3OD.2 Decomposition of the diazonium salt 4 leads to a benzocyclobutene as the principal product. The influence of the nitro substituent is important, because the un-nitrated diazonium salt is decomposed to give a phenol in the normal manner. ... 

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