Carbene photolysis

Generation of Alkyl and Cycloalkyl Carbenes - Photolysis or thermolysis of a series of alkylchlorodiazirines (16) (Scheme 7) in the presence of alkenes, such as tetramethylethene, results in 1,2-H shifts, giving the corresponding vinyl chorides (18), in competition with additions of the carbenes (17) to the alkenes, yielding cyclopropanes (19). The mechanism of these reactions is discussed in the light of results obtained from photoacoustic calorimetry, and the ratio of vinyl chloride to cyclopropane seems to depend on the excited states of the carbene precursors and also on carbene-alkene complexes. Similar reactions of related diazirines have been investigated by flash photolysis. 

Stereospecific cycloaddition of fluorocarbene to (Z)- and ( )-4-methylpent-2-ene supports the carbene rather than the radical mechanism for this step. An isomer ratio (cisjtrans) close to unity suggests that photolysis of fluorodihalomethanes generates a free carbene. Photolysis of fluorodibromomethane in cyclohexene gave 7-fluorobicyclo[4.1.0]heptane in 9% yield. ... 

Thermal or photochemical decomposition of diazo compounds and diazirines gives carbenes. The formation of very stable gaseous nitrogen compensates for the formation of the unstable carbene. Photolysis or thermolysis of a ketene-Hke diazo compound eliminates a stable molecule carbon monoxide (CO) to yield a carbene. The reactions are not widely used since ketenes are not readily available precursors, and tend to polymerize under the reaction conditions (Scheme 5.5). 

Scheme 5.36 Stereocontrolled dipeptide formation by chromium amino carbene photolysis.

Other Rea.ctions, The photolysis of ketenes results in carbenes. The polymeriza tion of ketenes has been reviewed (49). It can lead to polyesters and polyketones (50). The polymerization of higher ketenes results in polyacetals depending on catalysts and conditions. Catalysts such as sodium alkoxides (polyesters), aluminum tribromide (polyketones), and tertiary amines (polyacetals) are used. Polymers from R2C—C—O may be represented as foUows. 

Intramolecular attack of the carbenes shown in Scheme 30a provides benzo[6]cyclo-hepta[(5 ]-furans and -thiophenes, but the nitrogen analogue (X = NH) yields 9,10-dihydro-acridine 81AJC1037). Photolysis of 2-biphenyl isocyanide (Scheme 30b) (72JOC3571) and thermolysis of 2-biphenylsulfonyl diazomethane (Scheme 30c) (72CC893) also result in ring expansion. 

The ring opening of 2//-azirines to yield vinylnitrenes on thermolysis, or nitrile ylides on photolysis, also leads to pyrrole formation (B-82MI30301). Some examples proceeding via nitrile ylides are shown in Scheme 92. The consequences of attempts to carry out such reactions in an intramolecular fashion depend not only upon the spatial relationship of the double bond and the nitrile ylide, but also upon the substituents of the azirine moiety since these can determine whether the resulting ylide is linear or bent. The HOMO and second LUMO of a bent nitrile ylide bear a strong resemblance to the HOMO and LUMO of a singlet carbene so that 1,1-cycloadditions occur to carbon-carbon double bonds rather than the 1,3-cycloadditions needed for pyrrole formation. The examples in Scheme 93 provide an indication of the sensitivity of these reactions to structural variations. 

The photolysis of the diazopyrazolone (369 X = N2, R = Me) in methanol yields two isomeric forms of methyl 3-phenylazo-2-butenoate (394) (80CC1263). The azo esters may arise via protonation of the carbene (395) with a concurrent opening of the ring by the nucleophilic solvent. 

Photolysis of dlazirines to nitrogen and carbenes is a general reaction and plays a greater role in carbene chemistry than photolysis of linear diazo compounds. Whereas the latter are often obtained only under the conditions of their thermal decomposition from suitable precursors, diazirines are obtainable in a pure state in most cases. Photolysis has the further advantage to permit nitrogen extrusion at atmospheric pressure, even with low-boiling materials. 

In the photolysis of difiuorodiazirine (218) a singlet carbene was also observed (65JA758). Reactions of the difiuorocarbene were especially studied with partners which are too reactive to be used in the presence of conventional carbene precursors, such as molecular chlorine and iodine, dinitrogen tetroxide, nitryl chloride, carboxylic acids and sulfonic acids. Thus chlorine, trifiuoroacetic acid and trifiuoromethanesulfonic acid reacted with difiuorodiazirine under the conditions of its photolysis to form compounds (237)-(239) (64JHC233). 

In chlorodiazirine photolysis there is also evidence of competition between intramolecular stabilization and reaction with added chemicals. Apparently carbenes are stabilized by... 

Cyclopropanations by carbenes from chlorodiazirines were observed in several cases, e.g. with the r-butyl compound. Cyclopropanation and stabilization by ring enlargement and by elimination compete in chlorocyclobutyldiazirine photolysis. 

A final method of /3-lactam 3,4-bond formation which has found fairly wide application is based on carbenlc insertion (78T1731 p. 1739). The carbenic centre can be generated by photolysis of a diazo compound as in the case of (158) (72JA1629, 79CC846) or from organometalllc precursors, for example (159) (71ACS1927). 

Diazirine, fluoromethoxy-nitrogen extrusion, 7, 224 Diazirine, methylvinyl-rearrangement, 7, 221 Diazirines addition reactions to Grignard compounds, 7, 2 0 as carbene precursors, 7, 236 IR spectra, 7, 203 microwave spectrum, 7, 199 molecular spectra, 7, 202-204 nitrogen extrusion, 7, 223 NMR, 7, 202 photoconversion to diazoalkanes, 7, 234 photoisomerization, 7, 221 photolysis, 7, 225-227 quantum chemical investigations, 7, 197 reactions... 

Preliminary investigations on the formation of carbenes from diazirines have already been made available. Frey and Stevens recently reported the photolysis of cyclic diazomethane. Cyclic diazomethane was irradiated in the gaseous phase with light of wavelength... 

Photolysis of ketene with light of wavelength 300-370 m/x produces the reactive intermediate carbene, which is capable of a variety of insertion and addition reactions. 

Photolysis of the sulphinyl-3H-pyrazole 587 in ether or methylene chloride leads to the formation of a relatively stable carbene 588 that can be identified by physical methods. When the irradiation is performed in ethyl vinyl ether or in furan, the expected cyclopropanes are formed smoothly and stereospecifically683 (equation 374). 

In the total synthesis of the protein kinase C inhibitors calphostins 146, the orf/zo-substituted intermediates, which are either obtained from photolysis or from reaction of the dienyl carbene complex 144 with tert-butyl isocyanide, were oxidised to yield the 1,2-benzoquinone 145 as a common product [81] (Scheme 61). 

In attempts to understand the photochemical reactions of Fischer carbene complexes, several matrix isolation and flash photolysis studies have been conducted using both Cr and W (but not Mo) complexes [5-11]. Although the complexes studied and conditions used varied, several general conclusions were drawn ... 

Photolysis of chromium alkoxycarbenes with azoarenes produced 1,2- and 1,3-diazetidinones, along with imidates from formal azo metathesis (Eq. 21) [85, 86]. Elegant mechanistic studies [87-89] indicated the primary photoprocess was trans-to-cis isomerization of the azoarene followed by subsequent thermal reaction with the carbene complex. Because of the low yields and mixtures obtained the process is of little synthetic use. 

Photodriven reactions of Fischer carbenes with alcohols produces esters, the expected product from nucleophilic addition to ketenes. Hydroxycarbene complexes, generated in situ by protonation of the corresponding ate complex, produced a-hydroxyesters in modest yield (Table 15) [103]. Ketals,presumably formed by thermal decomposition of the carbenes, were major by-products. The discovery that amides were readily converted to aminocarbene complexes [104] resulted in an efficient approach to a-amino acids by photodriven reaction of these aminocarbenes with alcohols (Table 16) [105,106]. a-Alkylation of the (methyl)(dibenzylamino)carbene complex followed by photolysis produced a range of racemic alanine derivatives (Eq. 26). With chiral oxazolidine carbene complexes optically active amino acid derivatives were available (Eq. 27). Since both enantiomers of the optically active chromium aminocarbene are equally available, both the natural S and unnatural R amino acid derivatives are equally... 

Ketenes react with tertiary allylic amines in the presence of Lewis acids to give zwitterionic intermediates which undergo [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement [119]. Photolysis of chromium carbene complexes in the presence of tertiary amines results in similar chemistry [120]. Cyclic (Table 21) and strained allylic amines (Eq. 34) work best, while acylic amines are less reactive (Eq. 35). 

One of the earliest reported thermal reactions of Fischer carbene complexes was the reaction with olefins to give cyclopropanes [127]. More recently it has been shown that photolysis accelerates inter molecular cydopropanation of electron-poor alkenes [128]. Photolysis of Group 6 imine carbenes with alkenes... 

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