Cyclization Borsche cinnoline synthesis

The Borsche (or Borsche-Herbert) cinnoline synthesis constitutes the cyclization of an ort/zo-diazonium aryl ketone to form a 4-cinnolone, or 4-hydroxycinnoline. It is mechanistically related to the Widman-Stoermer and Richter cinnoline syntheses, which involve the cyclization of ortho-diazonium aryl olefins and ortho-diazomnm aryl alkynes, respectively. 

This approach is important for the synthesis of cinnolines. CHEC(1984) <1984CHEC(2)1> already covered several examples. The methodology used starts with an aniline ortho substituted with an alkene (Widman-Stoermer type), alkyne (Richter type), or enolisable ketone (Borsche type) which is diazotisized, delivering the sixth atom, allowing cyclization. CHEC-II(1996) <1996CHEC-II(6)1> gave more examples. 

Cinnolines are prepared by an intramolecular cyclization of o-alkenyl or o-alkynyl aryldiazonium salts. For instance, (o-aminophenyl)alkynes 6 or alkyl(o-aminophenyl)ketones 8 (via the enol form) yield 4-hydroxycinnolines 7 (the v. Richter and Borsche syntheses, respectively), o-Aminostyrenes 10 afford 3,4-disubstituted cinnolines 11 (Widman-Stoermer synthesis) ... 

Walther Borsche and Alfred Herbert first reported the spontaneous cyclization of an ort/io-diazonium acetophenone in 1941, as part of a larger study on the synthetic transformations of 2-bromo-5-nitroacetophenone carried out at the University of Frankfurt am Main. The authors did not draw especial attention to this observation, and it was not until four years later that Schofield and Simpson suggested that this reaction might offer a general route to 4-cinnolones. After 70 years, this general reaction yielding 4-cinnolones remains one of the most useful methods for the synthesis of cinnolines. 

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