Bicyclobutanes, from cyclopropenes

Although some carbenes are reported not to add to cyclopropenes207, there are several examples of inter- and intra-molecular addition leading initially to the formation of bicyclobutanes. l,2-Diphenylcyclopropene-3-carboxylates are converted to a mixture of three stereoisomeric bicyclo[1.1.0]butanes by reaction with ethoxy-carbonylcarbene generated from the thermolysis of ethyl diazoacetate an additional product is the diene (278) which is apparently formed by rearrangement of an intermediate zwitter ion208). It should be noted, however, that cyclopropenes readily undergo addition to diazo-compounds, and that subsequent transformations may then lead to bicyclobutanes (see Section 8), and that a free carbene may therefore not be involved in the above process. 

Photolysis of pyrazolines derived from l,2-bis-trimethylsilyl-cyclopropene-3,3-di-carboxylates has also been shown to provide an efficient route to bicyclobutanes 249). 

When the cyclopropene has a single carbomethoxy or aryl substitunt at the 3-position, the predominant stereoisomer of the enone obtained has the substituent cis-to the ketone 260 261). One possible explanation is the formation of a bicyclobutane by peracid attack from the side away from this substituent, followed by a stereocontrolled rearrangement. If the 3-substituent is hydroxymethyl, the reverse stereochemistry is observed in the enone, in agreement with a peracid attack directed by this group to the same face of the cyclopropene, followed again by rearrangement 262). 

FIGURE 5. Ultraviolet spectra of (a) cyclopropane, (b) cyclopropene and (c) bicyclobutane. The cyclopropane spectrum was taken from Ref. 83 with permission of the American Institute of Physics. The other spectra were taken from the Ph.D. thesis of G. B. Ellison (Yale, 1974)... 

The higher members of the [l,n,l]-eliminations are also of preparative importance. Thus, the Doering allene synthesis 14) leads to bicyclobutanes (e.g. 66, 28 %) 45), if bulky substitution as in 65 favours the [l,3,l]-elimination. The related cyclopropene syntheses from 6746) and 6946, respectively (40 and 6% 68 in derivatized form lithiation and carboxylation), are to be classified as [l,3,(2)l]-eliminations of bromine (reductive) as well as of hydrogen chloride. The thermolysis or the photolysis of diazo... 

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