Benzofuroxans rearrangements

Benzisoxazoles.—The action of thionyl chloride on methyl o-nitromandelate leads to the ester (508). Nuclear chlorination also occurs in the reaction of the benzisoxazole (509), which yields 2-amino-3,5-dichlorobenzophenone (511), by way of the sulphinylamine (510), as shown.The kinetics of the reaction of sodium methoxide with 6-chloro-3-methyl-7-nitro-2,l-benzisoxazole, which involves the benzisoxazole-benzofuroxan rearrangement (512)-+(513), have been studied. 

Nucleophilic displacement of a nitro group by aniline in 5,6-dinitrobenzofuroxan has been reported. Rearrangements of 4-nitro-benzofuroxans are discussed in Section VIII. 

Quaternization is difficult benzofuroxan is unaffected by triethyl-oxonium fluoroborate. With methyl trifluoromethanesulfonate, an interesting rearrangement occurs, and l-hydroxybenzimidazole-3-oxide (39, R = H) is formed, probably via the N-quaternized derivative (38). Compound 39 (R = Ceils) has been prepared similarly. 

Chloro- and 5-methylbenzofuroxans are readily nitrated in the 4-position the product rearranges easily to form 7-substituted 4-nitro compounds (see Section VIII), also obtained by nitration of the corresponding 4-substituted benzofuroxans. Dinitration of 5-methylbenzofuroxan is said to give a product of m.p. 133°, while the 4-methyl gives a dinitro compound m.p. 122°-123°. For other benzofuroxans to have been nitrated see refs. 19, 36, 81, 97,121. There appears to be some confusion over the site of electrophilic substitution of naphtho[l,2-c]furoxan. Early reports in the literature state that nitration gives the 5,6-dinitro derivative (47). However, sulfona-... 

The 1-oxide 3-oxide tautomerism [Eq. (3), p. 4] has been discussed earlier (Sections II and III,C) in connection with the problem of the structure of benzofuroxan. A second type of rearrangement involves the furoxan ring and an adjacent substituent group, and arose out of a suggestion of Bailey and Case that 4-nitro-benzofuroxan might be a resonance hybrid of type (57)-(-> (58), rather than 57. NMR ruled out this possibility the three protons present in... 

The rearrangement has been extended to other 4-substituted benzofuroxans of type 61, giving 62 i30-i32. although in no ease to date has the benzofuroxan been isolated, they are presumed intermediates in the formation of 63 and 64 from 5-dimethylaminobenzo-furoxan with 2,4-dinitrobenzenediazonium chloride and nitrous acid, respectively, and of 66 from 6, 68 from 67,and 70 from 69.132... 

Reduction of benzofuroxans is usually the most convenient route to benzofurazans and o-quinone dioximes (see Section VI, C). Reduction of 4-nitrobenzofuroxan would seem to be a method of synthesis of 1,2,3-triaminobenzene, while the haloalkoxy-substitution reaction (Section VTT,B) and the rearrangements of Section VIII provide compounds accessible only with difficulty by other methods. Apart from these reactions, the benzofuroxans appear to be of limited synthetic utility. 

Furoxans and benzofuroxans undergo thermal and photochemical ring cleavage, reactions with nucleophiles, Boulton-Katritzky rearrangement, reduction and deoxygenation, ring transformation, etc. (see also Section 5.05.6.2). 

The most synthetically useful methods for benzofuroxans are (1) oxidation of o-quinone dioximes (2) decomposition of o-nitroaryl azides and (3) oxidation of o-nitroanilines. Benzofuroxans can also be formed as a result of Boulton-Katritzky rearrangement (see Section 5.05.5.2.1). 

The furoxan ring is notably resistant to electrophilic attack and reaction normally takes place at the substituents. Thus aryl groups attached to monocyclic furoxans and the homocyclic ring of benzofuroxans are nitrated and halogenated without disruption of the heterocycle. Reaction with acid is also slow protonation is predicted to occur at N-5 <89KGS1261> and benzofuroxans have pKj, values of ca. 8, similar to those of benzofurazans. Monosubstituted furoxans are, as expected, less stable and can be hydrolyzed to the corresponding carboxylic acid. Treatment of the parent furoxan (3) with concentrated sulfuric acid results in rearrangement to (hydroxyimino)acetonitrile oxide (HON=CHC=N —O ) and subsequent dimerization to bis(hydroxyiminomethyl)furoxan... 

The principal methods for forming the heterocyclic ring of benzofuroxans involve oxidation of o-quinone dioximes, thermolysis of o-nitroaryl azides, and oxidation of o-nitroanilines (Scheme 25). Ring chain tautomerism (Section 4.05.5.2.1) for the A -oxides of asymmetrically substituted benzofuroxans is more facile than for monocyclic analogues and mixtures of isomers may result. Benzofuroxans are also formed by Boulton-Katritzky rearrangement of 7-nitro-2,l-benzisoxazoles and 4(7)-nitrobenzofuroxans (Section 4.05.5.2.5). 

A. R. Katritzky u. M. F. Gordeev, Heterocyclic Rearrangements of Benzofuroxans and Related Compounds, Heterocycles 35, 483 (1993) (Boulton-Katritzky-Umlagerung). 

Rearrangements of benzofuroxanes and their analogs 93H(35)483. Synthesis of 3,5-diaryl-l,2-4- and 2,5-diaryl-l,3,4-oxadiazoles from tri-chloromethylarenes 93KGS980. 

The generation from furoxans of other heterocyclic systems, some of which show useful biological activity (see Section 4.22.5), has been the subject of intensive investigation. The following subsections summarize the conversion of benzofuroxans into quinoxaline and benzimidazole oxides, the rearrangement of 4-substituted benzofuroxans, and the transformation of monocyclic furoxans into isoxazoles and isoxazolines, furazans, and pyrazolines. More detailed discussion is to be found in recent comprehensive reviews (75S415, 76H(4)767, 81AHC(29)251>. 

Examples include the synthesis of 3-amino-l,2,4-oxadiazoles starting from 3-acylamino-5-methyl-l,2,4-oxadiazole <2002H811> and 2-aryl-l,2,3-triazoles from l,2,4-oxadiazole-3-ketone arylhydrazones <1999T12885, 2006JOC5616>. Oximes, hydrazones, formamidines, and thioureas of the furazan series also undergo base-catalyzed mononuclear rearrangements <2004RCB1121>. Nucleophilic attack at N(3) takes place in the benzofuroxan series. For example, reaction with secondary amines leads to o-nitroarylhydrazines (Scheme 55). 

Deprotonation can occur at the -GH of pyrazole A-alkyl groups for example 1-methylpyrazole with -BuLi. Such proton loss is facilitated in cationic azido rings, and the ylides so formed sometimes undergo rearrangement. Thus, quaternized 1,2-benzisoxazoles 796 lose a proton and then rearrange to 1,3-benzoxazines, e.g., 797. Quaternized derivatives of benzofuroxan formed in situ undergo rearrangement to 1-hydroxybenzimidazole A-oxides 798. Reactions of this type are also known for A-alkylazolinones. 

The benzofuroxan phenylene ring is subjected to electrophilic substitution, in particular, nitration reaction. If the nitro group is introduced into the position neighboring to the heterocycle, the nitro compound formed undergoes the so-called Boulton-Katritzky rearrangement [155-161],... 

The second transformation is a version of the aforementioned Boulton-Katrizky rearrangement [522], Benzofuroxan was not isolated but appeared as an intermediate on heating 2,6-dinitro-3-azidoaryldiazenobenzene. The reaction starts with nucleophilic attack of the diazene fragment on the furoxan cycle nitrogen atom [653]. 

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