Carbenes small rings, generation

As with other diazoalkanes, diazomethane reacts with alkenes to form cyclopropane derivatives (sec. 13.9.C.i).272 Reaction with aromatic derivatives leads to ring expansion to cycloheptatriene derivatives.223 Both of these reactions (addition to an alkene or arene insertion) involve generation of an intermediate carbene and addition to a jt bond they will be discussed below. Many of the reactions of diazomethane tend to be ionic in nature and are, therefore, set aside from the other diazoalkane chemistry in this section. One of the commonest uses of diazomethane itself is esterification of small quantities of acids, especially acids that are precious for one reason or another. The reaction is quantitative and gives good yields of a single product, as in Tadano s conversion of 338 to the methyl ester of 339224 in a synthesis of (-)-verrucarol. 

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