Cyclopropanations dimethyl diazomalonate

Much of the early work into the rhodium(II)-catalysed formation of oxazoles from diazocarbonyl compounds was pioneered by the group of Helquist. They first reported, in 1986, the rhodium(II) acetate catalysed reaction of dimethyl diazomalonate with nitriles.<86TL5559, 93T5445, 960S(74)229> A range of nitriles was screened, including aromatic, alkyl and vinyl derivatives with unsaturated nitriles, cyclopropanation was found to be a competing reaction (Table 3). 

Thorough investigations with dimethyl diazomalonate and catalysts of the type (RO)3P CuX have revealed that the efficiency of competing reaction paths, the synjanti or EjZ selectivity in cyclopropane formation as well as the cis/trans ratio of carbene dimers depend not only on catalyst concentration and temperature but also on the nature of R58) and of the halide anion X 57 6". Furthermore, the cyclopropane yield can be augmented in many cases at the expense of carbene dimer... 

The preference for the less substituted double bond also determines the outcome of the copper-catalyzed cyclopropanation of isotetraline with dimethyl diazomalonate which gives 27 and its dehydrogenated relative 2883) the same behavior of the carbenoid derived from ethyl diazoacetate has been reported 84). 

Allyl acetals154). Allyl ethers give no or only trace amounts of ylide-derived products in the Rh2(OAc)4-catalyzed reaction with ethyl diazoacetate, thus paralleling the reactivity of allyl chloride. In contrast, cyclopropanation must give way to the ylide route when allyl acetals are the substrates and ethyl diazoacetate or dimethyl diazomalonate the carbenoid precursors. 

In addition to cyclopropane 145 and the expected [2,3] rearrangement product 143 of an intermediary oxonium ylide, a formal [1,2] rearrangement product 144 and small amounts of ethyl alkoxyacetate 146 are obtained in certain cases. Comparable results were obtained when starting with dimethyl diazomalonate. Rh2(CF3COO)4 displayed an efficiency similar to Rh2(OAc)4, whereas reduced yields did not recommend the use of Rh6(CO)16 and several copper catalysts. Raising the reaction temperature had a deleterious effect on total product yield, as had... 

The reaction of N-alkylated pyrroles with carbenoids leads exclusively to substitution products. Due to the pharmaceutical importance of certain pyrrolylacetates, the reaction with alkyl diazoacetates (Scheme 45) has been systematically studied using about 50 different catalysts.13 Both the 2- and 3-alkylated products (216) and (217) could be formed and the ratio was dependent on the size of the JV-alkyl group and ester and also on the type of catalyst used. This has been interpreted as evidence that transient cyclopropane intermediates were not involved because if this were the case, the catalyst should not have influenced the isomer distribution. Instead, the reaction was believed to proceed by dipolar intermediates, whereby product control is determined by the position of electrophilic attack by the carbenoid. Similar alkylations with dimethyl diazomalonate gave greater selectivity and yields.164... 

Only a limited number of examples have been reported. The reactivity of sulfonium ylide 98a, prepared by the reaction of thiepine 96 and dimethyl diazomalonate (Section 13.03.6.1), was examined <20060BC2218>. The reactivity of the stabilized sulfonium ylide 98a was restricted to the highly reactive Michael acceptor, tetracya-noethylene 152 (the ylide failed to react with benzaldehyde or dicyanoethylene). Reaction of ylide 98a with tetracyanoethylene 152 led to the consumption of the ylide 98a (Equation 22). Thiepine 96 was produced in the reaction and the formation of cyclopropane 153 was suggested. 

Copper-catalyzed cyclopropanation of 4,7-dihydro-l,3-dioxepin 46a with ethyl diazoacetate gave cyclopropanodiox-epane 49, as the only product. The product formation of cyclopropanation with dimethyl diazomalonate (dmdm) catalyzed by copper(n) acetylacetonate depends on the substitution pattern of the dioxepin (Scheme 3) <2000HCA966>. 

Dimethyl diazomalonate undergoes reaction with nitriles in the presence of rhodium(II) acetate to give 2-substituted-4-carbomethoxy-l,3-oxazoles (255). The reaction proceeds with a wide range of nitriles,133-139 although cyclopropanation is a competing process in the case of unsaturated nitriles.129... 

Reaction of the enol ether 58 with dimethyl diazomalonate provides the spiro compound 59 in high yield. Reduction and acid catalyzed cyclopropane cleavage gives the unsaturated y-lactol 60 which can be oxidized to p-methylene y-butyro-lactone 61 20). 

Deoxygenation of epoxides.1 In the presence of rhodium(II) acetate, dimethyl diazomalonate converts epoxides into the corresponding alkenes with formation of dimethyl oxomuionate. Alkene isomerization or cyclopropanation is not observed. Yields are generally >80%. 

Upon direct irradiation of dimethyl diazomalonate in various (Z)-alkenes, the corresponding CM-disubstituted cyclopropanes are obtained with a stereoselectivity of only 90% ° conversely, a cisjtrans ratio of 10 90 is obtained when ( )-but-2-enes are cyclopropanated. The stereochemical integrity of the alkene was lost to an even greater extent when 2-diazo-l-phenylethanone" was utilized giving cyclopropanes 3. 

Allyldiethylamine behaves similarly, but the yields are low since neither the starting amine nor the products are stable to the reaction conditions. For the efficiency of the cyclopropanation of the allylic systems under discussion, a comparison can be made between the triplet-sensitized photochemical reaction and the process carried out in the presence of copper or rhodium catalysts whereas with allyl halides and allyl ethers, the transition metal catalyzed reaction often produces higher yields (especially if tetraacetatodirhodium is used), the photochemical variant is the method of choice for allyl sulfides. The catalysts react with allyl sulfides (and with allyl selenides and allylamines, for that matter) exclusively via the ylide pathway (see Section 1.2.1.2.4.2.6.3.3. and Houben-Weyl, Vol. E19b, pll30). It should also be noted that the purely thermal decomposition of dimethyl diazomalonate in allyl sulfides produces no cyclopropane, but only the ylide-derived product in high yield.Very few cyclopropanes have been synthesized by photolysis of other diazocarbonyl compounds than a-diazo esters and a-diazo ketones, although this should not be impossible in several cases (e.g. a-diazo aldehydes, a-diazocarboxamides). Irradiation of a-diazo-a-(4-nitrophenyl)acetic acid in a mixture of 2-methylbut-2-ene and methanol gave mainly l-(4-nitrophenyl)-2,2,3-trimethylcyclo-propane-1-carboxylic acid (19, 71%) in addition to some O-H insertion product (10%). ... 

Catalytic cyclopropanation of alkenes with diazomalonates is sometimes carried out with copper powder, but it appears that copper(I) halide/trialkyl phosphite complexes (for a procedure see Houben-Weyl Vol. E19b, p 1113), bis(acetylacetonato)copper(II), " ° and tet-raacetatodirhodium can be employed more advantageously (Table 13, entries 7-9). For the cyclopropanation of styrene with dicyclohexyl diazomalonate, however, copper(I) triflate was the catalyst of choice, while intramolecular C —H insertion at the cyclohexyl ring took place in the presence of tetraacetatodirhodium. A detailed comparison of copper catalysts for the cyclopropanation of cyclohexene, 1-methyl- and 1,2-dimethylcyclohexene, (Z)- and ( )-hept-2-ene with dimethyl diazomalonate, including competitive reaction pathways such as allylic C-H insertion and carbene dimer formation, is available. The catalyzed interaction between diazomalonic esters and enol ethers leads to cyclopropanes in some cases (e.g. ethoxymethylenecyclohexane to dimethyl 2-ethoxyspiro[2.5]octane-l,l-dicarboxylate ) and to different products in other cases (e.g. 1-methoxycyclohexene, 2-methoxy-3,4-dihydro-2/7-pyran ). This behavior is attributed to the occurence of stabilized dipolar intermediates in these reactions. 

Allyl methyl ether (ethyl diazoacetate, rhodium catalysis) and allyl terf-butyl ether (dimethyl diazomalonate, copper catalysis) yield cyclopropanes exclusively. With y-substituted allyl methyl ethers, C-0 insertion is generally strongly favored over cyclopropanation, even with tetraacetatodirhodium as catalyst.In view of these findings, the cyclopropanation of ( )- ,4-dibenzyloxybut-2-ene in moderate yield, only, to give (la,2a,3j5)-31 is notable. 

Cyclopropanation products were not isolated from furan and the following diazocarbonyl compounds diethyl 2-diazopent-3-enedioate, ° dimethyl diazomalonate (see also Table 13, entry 9), 6-diazopenicillinates (though not with benzofuran). The carbenoid reaction [copper(II) sulfate, 80 °C] of l-diazopropan-2-one with benzofuran yields 1-acetyl-1 a,6b-dihydro-l//-cyclopropa[ )]benzofuran. ° However, when furan is cyclopropanated with a-di-azo ketones, 6-(l-oxoalkyl)-2-oxabicyclo[3.1.0]hex-3-enes are either not obtained or rearrange slowly even at 20°C to the isomeric 1,4-diacylbuta-l,3-dienes. 

The rhodium- or copper-catalyzed interaction of dimethyl diazomalonate with 2-(l-al-kenyl)thiophenes yields either a dimethyl 2-(2-thienyl)cyclopropane-l,l-dicarboxylate, a thiophenium ylide, or a dimethyl [5-(l-alkenyl)-2-thienyl]malonate, depending on the substituents at the alkene bond and the heterocyele. ... 

Thus, dimethyl diazomalonate (274) yields bis(methoxycarbonyl)carbene (275) in a thermal decomposition. While 275 does undergo a Wolff rearrangement, it is also re-ported to add to naphthalene to yield the cyclopropane 276 in 30-40% yield. When the... 

Homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis of bismethoxycarbonylcarbene addition to olefins and the copper- and silver-catalysed decompositions of dimethyl diazomalonate all result in stereospecific cyclopropanation, although three-membered ring formation is accompained by significant amounts of allyic C—H insertions pro-... 

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