Diazoalkanes, cycloaddition reactions

The normal electron-demand principle of activation of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrones has also been tested for the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of alkenes with diazoalkanes [71]. The reaction of ethyl diazoacetate 33 with 19b in the presence of a TiCl2-TADDOLate catalyst 23a afforded the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition product 34 in good yield and with 30-40% ee (Scheme 6.26). 

Catalytic cyclopropanation of alkenes has been reported by the use of diazoalkanes and electron-rich olefins in the presence of catalytic amounts of pentacarbonyl(rj2-ris-cyclooctene)chromium [23a,b] (Scheme 6) and by treatment of conjugated ene-yne ketone derivatives with different alkyl- and donor-substituted alkenes in the presence of a catalytic amount of pentacarbon-ylchromium tetrahydrofuran complex [23c]. These [2S+1C] cycloaddition reactions catalysed by a Cr(0) complex proceed at room temperature and involve the formation of a non-heteroatom-stabilised carbene complex as intermediate. 

At this point the catalytic process developed by Dotz et al. using diazoalkanes and electron-rich dienes in the presence of catalytic amounts of pentacar-bonyl(r]2-ds-cyclooctene)chromium should be mentioned. This reaction leads to cyclopentene derivatives in a process which can be considered as a formal [4S+1C] cycloaddition reaction. A Fischer-type non-heteroatom-stabilised chromium carbene complex has been observed as an intermediate in this reaction [23a]. 

Alkylidene sulfenes (75), generally prepared by the dehydrohalogenation of alkylsulfonyl chlorides, add readily to electron-rich multiple bonds. For example, with enamines, the thietane dioxide (e.g., 76) is formed diazoalkanes yield thiirane dioxides (episulfones) and imines (Schiff bases) afford 1,2-thiazetidine 1,1-dioxides. There are available numerous reviews of sulfenes, including cycloaddition reactions.102... 

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions to unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds have been known for quite some time and have become an important part of strategies for organic synthesis of many compounds (Smith and March, 2007). The 1,3-dipolar compounds that participate in this reaction include many of those that can be drawn having charged resonance hybrid structures, such as azides, diazoalkanes, nitriles, azomethine ylides, and aziridines, among others. The heterocyclic ring structures formed as the result of this reaction typically are triazoline, triazole, or pyrrolidine derivatives. In all cases, the product is a 5-membered heterocycle that contains components of both reactants and occurs with a reduction in the total bond unsaturation. In addition, this type of cycloaddition reaction can be done using carbon-carbon double bonds or triple bonds (alkynes). 

Diazoazoles, because of charge polarization and potential bifunctional reactivity of the derived betaine, react with dipolarophiles to give cycloaddition products. Generally all the diazoazoles react with electron-rich, unsaturated derivatives. The cycloaddition reaction with isocyanates is readily observed in the case of the reactive 3-diazopyrazoles, but it is much slower with other diazoazoles. By contrast, reaction with ylides and diazoalkanes is only observed for 3-diazopyrazoles and 3-diazoindazoles. 

An interesting preparation of aliphatic diazoalkanes (R R C = N2 R, R = alkyl) involves the photolysis of 2-alkoxy-2,5-dihydro-1,3.4-oxadiazoles (see Scheme 8.49). When the photolysis is carried out in the presence of an appropriate dipolarophUe, the diazo compounds can be intercepted (prior to their further photolysis) by a [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction (54). As an example, 2-diazopropane was intercepted with A-phenylmaleimide (54) and norbornenes (55) to give the corresponding A -pyrazolines. 

Stanovnik and co-workers (100,101) systematically investigated the cycloaddition reactions of diazoalkanes with unsaturated nitrogen heterocycles, such as azolo-[l,5-fl]pyridines, pyridazin-3(2/7)-ones, and [fo]-fused azolo- and azinopyridazines. The Stanovnik group have studied the further transformations of the products and reviews of this chemistry are available. In a typical example, the reaction of 6-chlorotetrazolo[l,5-/7]pyridazine (37) with 2-diazopropane yields the NH,NH-dihy-dro-pyrazolo[4,3-(i]tetrazolo[l,5-/7]pyridazine 38 (102) (Scheme 8.11). The latter substrate reacts with acetone to produce an azomethine imine 39 that thermally rearranges to give the fused dihydro-1,2-diazepine 40. The azomethine imine obtained with glucose can be trapped with methyl acrylate to furnish the C-nucleoside 41 (103). 

The first effective enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of diazoalkanes catalyzed by chiral Lewis acids was reported in the year 20(X) (139). Under catalysis using zinc or magnesium complexes and the chiral ligand (R,/ )-DBFOX/Ph, the reaction of diazo(trimethylsilyl)methane with 3-alkenoyl-2-oxazolidin-2-one 75 (R = H) gave the desilylated A -pyrazolines (4S,5R)-76 (R =Me 87% yield, 99% ee at 40 °C) (Scheme 8.18). Simple replacement of the oxazohdinone with the 4,4-dimethyloxazolidinone ring resulted in the formation of (4R,5S)-77 (R = Me 75% yield, 97% ee at -78 °C). 

The intramolecular [3 - - 2] cycloaddition reaction of diazoalkane 252 (Scheme 8.60) is remarkable for its high asymmetric induction. Due to the presence of the... 

Alkoxy-5-diazomethyl-5//-benzocyclopentenes of type 270 undergo an unusual isomerization reaction leading to tetracyclic azo compounds 271 (316,317) (Scheme 8.66). The reaction readily occurs upon chromatographic workup of the diazo compounds that are prepared by electrophilic diazoalkane substitution using benzotropylium salts. The isolated diazo compounds are thermally converted into 271. The isomerization reaction was interpreted as a formal [4 + 3] cycloaddition. Since [47I + 4ti] cycloaddition reactions are thermally disallowed processes, a... 

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of diazoalkanes with alkenes has also been reported (395). Kanemasa and Kanai (395) used the chiral DBFOX-Ph ligand with various metals such as Ni, Zn, and Mg for the preparation of 255a-c. The reaction of TMS-diazomethane 171 with alkene 241 was catalyzed by 10 mol% of 255b to afford the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition product 296 in good yields and enantioselectivities of up to 99% ee (Scheme 12.96). Also, the Ni-catalyst 255a and the Mg-catalyst 255c were excellent catalysts for the reaction, resulting in >90% ee in both cases. 

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