Tosylhydrazones diazo compounds

The Bamford-Stevens decomposition of tosylhydrazones by base has been applied to steroids, although not extensively. It has been demonstrated that the reaction proceeds via a diazo compound which undergoes rapid decomposition. The course of this decomposition depends upon the conditions in proton-donating solvents the reaction has the characteristics of a process involving carbonium ions, and olefins are formed, often accompanied by Wagner-Meerwein-type rearrangement. In aprotic solvents the diazo compound appears to give carbene intermediates which form olefins and insertion products ... 

In the case of sodium 2-(diarylmethylene)cyclopentanone tosylhydrazones 3, however, thermolysis gives the 3//-1,2-benzodiazepines 6 in good yield selected examples are shown. It is suggested that steric constraints in the diazo compounds 4 favor the [1,7] ring closure. The reaction proceeds by way of the intermediates 5, which rearrange to the products by a [1,5] shift of hydrogen.115... 

Of course, the key limitation of the ylide-mediated methods discussed so far is the use of stoichiometric amounts of the chiral reagent. Building on their success with catalytic asymmetric ylide-mediated epoxidation (see Section 1.2.1.2), Aggarwal and co-workers have reported an aza version that provides a highly efficient catalytic asymmetric synthesis of trans-aziridines from imines and diazo compounds or the corresponding tosylhydrazone salts (Scheme 1.43) [68-70]. 

The sulfur ylide-mediated epoxidation of aldehydes has been thoroughly investigated [70, 71]. The chiral sulfur ylides reported by Aggarwal have been most broadly applicable, and a catalytic, asymmetric process yielding aromatic transepoxides has been developed [72]. In this process, the sulfur ylides are produced in situ from diazo compounds, generated in turn from tosylhydrazone salts (Scheme 9.15) [73],... 

The thermochemistry of 4,4-diphenylcyclohexa-2,5-dienylidene (lu) in solution was investigated by Freeman and Pugh (Scheme 19).106 The thermal decomposition of the diazo compound 2u (produced in situ from the corresponding tosylhydrazone lithium salt) produces a complex product mixture with the azine as the major product (51%). Volatile monomeric products biphenyl and several terphenyls were also formed in low yields. 

The reactivity of cage-annulated carbene (53) was found to depend markedly on the method of its formation." Pyrolysis of the corresponding tosylhydrazone sodium salt gave products of intramolecular CH insertion or H-abstraction. Photolysis of a diazirine precursor gave only azine products by reaction of the carbene with the precursor or diazo compound. Treatment of the m-dibromoalkane with BuLi gave products due to intermolecular insertion of the carbene into CH bonds of the solvent. 

Various ot,p y,5-unsaturated 1,3-dipoles are known to undergo 1,7-cyclization by a 871-electrocyclization process (329,330), and the corresponding diazo compounds behave similarly. 5-Diazopenta-l,3-diene derivatives such as 285 (Scheme 8.70), generated in situ by thermolysis of the corresponding tosylhydrazone sodium salts, cyclize to form 1,2-diazepines (286) (331). Sharp and co-workers studied the mechanism, scope, and limitations of this transformation. It was found that cis-substitution about the y,8-double bond prevents the 1,7-cyclization and directs the system toward 1,5-cyclization (332,333) (i.e., formation of a 3//-pyrazole), and that the ot,(3-double bond can be part of a phenyl ring (334). In special cases, the y,8-double bond can be incorporated as part of an aromatic [287 288 (335)] or 2- or 3-thienyl ring as well (336). 

Throughout this chapter, we have almost always ignored the role of the carbene precursor. Carbenes are generally made from diazo compounds, or from a variety of surrogate diazo compounds including diazirines, tosylhydrazone salts, and aziridyl imines, all of which probably decompose through nonisolable diazo compounds. Not surprisingly, it turns out that diazo compounds have a rich chemistry of their own, especially when irradiated. Moreover, that chemistry often closely resembles the reactions of carbenes. Much of intramolecular carbene chemistry is, in fact, diazo compound chemistry. 

This is a major route of decomposition of ethyl 2-furyldiazoacetate (%) (R = H, = C02Et) when heated in dichloromethane or methanol (74JOC2939). The same type of decomposition has been observed with other 2-furylcarbenes which were generated by decomposition of the sodium salts of tosylhydrazones at 3(X)°C (78JA7927). Thermolysis of the diazo compound 96 (R = R = H) in cyclooctane or styrene gave, besides the open-chain acetylene 97, products of intermolecular carbene insertion. This led the authors to favor the carbene mechanism of ring-opening (path A in Scheme 7). 

The present procedure uses sodium methoxide in methanol for generation of the tosylhydrazone salt. This procedure gives the highest reported yield and, unlike other procedures, also gives pure diazo compounds free from solvents. This vacuum pyrolysis method appears applicable to the formation of relatively volatile aryldiazomethanes from aromatic aldehydes. Table I gives yields of diazo compounds produced by this vacuum pyrolysis method. The yields have not been optimized. The relatively volatile diazo esters, ethyl a-... 

FORMATION OF DIAZO-COMPOUNDS BY VACUUM PYROLYSIS OF SODIUM SALTS OF TOSYLHYDRAZONES... 

The major limitation of the vacuum pyrolysis method appears to be thermal decomposition of less volatile diazo compounds during the pyrolysis. The vacuum pyrolysis method was unsuccessful for the preparation of 1-naphthyl diazomethane and 3,5-dichlorophenyldiazomethane. However, such diazo compounds could be prepared from the corresponding tosylhydrazone salts by pyrolysi s in ethylene glycol and extraction of the aryldiazomethane into... 

Phenyldiazomethane, 1, 834. A new method for preparation of this (and other aryl-diazomethanes) involves a vacuum pyrolysis of the sodium salt of benzaldehyde tosylhydrazone, a method introduced for carrying out the Bamford-Stevens reaction. The yield is 80%, the highest yield yet reported. Another advantage is that the reagent is obtained free from solvents. The pyrolysis can also be coitducted in ethylene glycol at 80° with extraction of the aryldiazomethane into hexane.1 Caution All diazo compounds arc highly toxic and potentially explosive. 

Diazomethane and its simple analogs undergo cycloaddition to unsaturated compounds both directly and after conversion to carbenes. The direct cycloadditions are 1,3-dipolar for the most part and provide access to pyrazolines and pyrazoles. Intramolecular cyclizations were recognized as early as 1965 95 The two main methods used in generation of diazo compounds for subsequent intramolecular cycloaddition include thermolysis of tosylhydrazone salts and thermolysis of iminoaziridines. Decomposition of nitros-amines has also been employed. 

Silylcarbenes, especially when generated by photochemical or thermal decomposition of diazo compounds or tosylhydrazone alkali salts or a-hydroxy-a-silylsilanes, tend to... 

A major improvement addressing the issue of practicability and safety by avoidance of the direct use of (potentially) explosive diazo compounds was recently reported by Aggarwal and co-workers [82, 83], The direct addition of diazo compounds was replaced by use of suitable precursors which form the desired diazo compound in situ. The Aggarwal group developed this concept for the corresponding sulfur ylide type epoxidation (see Section 6.8) [82], and successfully extended it to aziridination [83]. Starting from the tosylhydrazone salt 66 the diazo compound is formed in situ under conditions (phase-transfer-catalysis at 40 °C) which were found to be compatible with the sulfur ylide type aziridination [82, 83], The concept of this improved method, for which sulfide 67 (Scheme 5.41) is the most efficient catalyst, is shown in Scheme 5.40. 

Tosylhydrazones give alkenes upon treatment with strong bases. This reaction is performed in two steps, where the intermediate diazo compound may be isolated. Subsequent reaction with protic or aprotic solvents strongly influences the outcome of the reaction. 

As in the epoxidation reactions, the diazo compound could be generated in situ from tosylhydrazone salts (see Scheme 10.16) [79, 80]. This addressed the major... 

Conjugated tosylhydrazoncs also can be reduced to hydrocarbons with the method depicted in Figure 14.60, that is, with NaBH(OMe)3.The C=C double bond is retained but it is shifted. Figure 14.61 exemplifies this situation for tosylhydrazone A. The sequence of initial steps A —> B —> D resembles the one shown in Figure 14.60. However, the diazo compound D undergoes a different reaction, namely, a retro-ene reaction. A retro-ene reaction is a one-step fragmentation reaction of... 

Diazo-l, 8-, 3,6-, and 4,5-diazafluorenes are obtained by alkaline decomposition of the respective 9-tosylhydrazones. Photolysis of these diazo compounds yields reactive carbenes whose properties and reactions were investigated by Schuster and Li <86JOC3806, 87JOC3975) and by Durr and coworkers <89TL1935>. 

V thermal decomposition of diazo compound, often derived from tosylhydrazone... 

Thermal decomposition of the sodium salts of tosylhydrazones 45a-e gave the triene-conjugated diazo 46a-e, which have a,(3 aromatic and 7, e,C olefinic unsaturation. Such diazo compounds react at 25 °C via an intramolecular [3+2] cycloaddition with unprecedented regioselectivity to give the bridged benzodiazocine 6a-e. 

Mechanism The first step of the Bamford-Stevens reaction is the formation of the diazo compound A by the treatment of tosylhydrazone with a base. The reaction mechanism involves a carbene B in an aprotic solvent (Path A) and carbocation C in a protic solvent (Path B) (Scheme 4.53). When an aprotic solvent is used, predominantly Z-alkenes are obtained, while a protic solvent gives a mixture of E- and Z-alkenes. If there is a choice of product, the more substituted alkene is produced predominantly. 

Many more carbenes can be made safely from diazoalkanes if the diazoalkane is just an intermediate in the reaction and not the starting material. Good starting materials for these reactions are tosylhydrazones, which produce transient diazo compoimds by base-catalysed elimination of toluenesulfinate. The diazo compound is not normally isolated, and decomposes to the carbene on heating. 

The Bamford-Stevens reaction is particularly effective for the generation of 9-phenyl-l(9)-homo-cubene (93), the most twisted alkene yet known. Thus, thermolysis of the cubyl phenyl ketone tosylhydrazone (91) in ethanolic sodium ethoxide or photolysis of the diazo compound (92) in ethanol both give good conversions to a 3 2 mixture of the isomeric ethers (95) and (96) (Scheme 11). The formation of (96) suggests the intervention of l-phenyl-9-homocubylidene (94) via the rearrangement of (93). 

The reaction of tosylhydrazones with sodium in ethylene glycol to give alkenes had been observed before (Bamford-Stevens reaction) other bases, e.g. NaOMe, alkali metal hydrides and NaNH2 were also used. However, in these cases side reactions occur and, in contrast to the Shapiro reaction, the more highly substituted alkene is predominantly formed. Two mechanisms are discussed for these reactions a mechanism via a carbenium ion, which usually takes place in protic solvents, and a carbene mechanism in aprotic solvents (Scheme 28). In both cases diazo compounds are intermediates, which can sometimes be isolated. ... 

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