Diazo compounds, ylide formation

Despite the above, there is also considerable evidence to suggest that oxazole formation proceeds via an intermediate nitrile ylide, particularly in the catalysed reactions (see below). Nitrile ylides have been detected in laser flash photolysis studies of diazo compounds in the presence of nitriles, and stable nitrile ylides can be isolated in some cases.<94CRV1091>... 

Muller et al. have also examined the enantioselectivity and the stereochemical course of copper-catalyzed intramolecular CH insertions of phenyl-iodonium ylides [34]. The decomposition of diazo compounds in the presence of transition metals leads to typical reactions for metal-carbenoid intermediates, such as cyclopropanations, insertions into X - H bonds, and formation of ylides with heteroatoms that have available lone pairs. Since diazo compounds are potentially explosive, toxic, and carcinogenic, the number of industrial applications is limited. Phenyliodonium ylides are potential substitutes for diazo compounds in metal-carbenoid reactions. Their photochemical, thermal, and transition-metal-catalyzed decompositions exhibit some similarities to those of diazo compounds. 

Rhodium(II) acetate was found to be much more superior to copper catalysts in catalyzing reactions between thiophenes and diazoesters or diazoketones 246 K The outcome of the reaction depends on the particular diazo compound 246> With /-butyl diazoacetate, high-yield cydopropanation takes place, yielding 6-eco-substituted thiabicyclohexene 262. Dimethyl or diethyl diazomalonate, upon Rh2(OAc)4-catalysis at room temperature, furnish stable thiophenium bis(alkoxycarbonyl)methanides 263, but exclusively the corresponding carbene dimer upon heating. In contrast, only 2-thienylmalonate (36 %) and carbene dimer were obtained upon heating the reactants for 8 days in the presence of Cul P(OEt)3. The Rh(II)-promoted ylide formation... 

Interaction of an electrophilic carbene or carbenoid with R—S—R compounds often results in the formation of sulfonium ylides. If the carbene substituents are suited to effectively stabilize a negative charge, these ylides are likely to be isolable otherwiese, their intermediary occurence may become evident from products of further transformation. Ando 152 b) has given an informative review on sulfonium ylide chemistry, including their formation by photochemical or copper-catalyzed decomposition of diazocarbonyl compounds. More recent examples, including the generation and reactions of ylides obtained by metal-catalyzed decomposition of diazo compounds in the presence of thiophenes (Sect. 4.2), allyl sulfides and allyl dithioketals (Sect. 2.3.4) have already been presented. 

As with any modern review of the chemical Hterature, the subject discussed in this chapter touches upon topics that are the focus of related books and articles. For example, there is a well recognized tome on the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction that is an excellent introduction to the many varieties of this transformation [1]. More specific reviews involving the use of rhodium(II) in carbonyl ylide cycloadditions [2] and intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions have also appeared [3, 4]. The use of rhodium for the creation and reaction of carbenes as electrophilic species [5, 6], their use in intramolecular carbenoid reactions [7], and the formation of ylides via the reaction with heteroatoms have also been described [8]. Reviews of rhodium(II) ligand-based chemoselectivity [9], rhodium(11)-mediated macrocyclizations [10], and asymmetric rho-dium(II)-carbene transformations [11, 12] detail the multiple aspects of control and applications that make this such a powerful chemical transformation. In addition to these reviews, several books have appeared since around 1998 describing the catalytic reactions of diazo compounds [13], cycloaddition reactions in organic synthesis [14], and synthetic applications of the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition [15]. 

The mixture of 5 and 6 can be converted to 9 by reduction, separation and then epimerization/reduction of one isomer. Alcohol 9 is then further subjected to similar procedure as for 1 to give tricyclic ether 12, through the same Cu(tfacac)2-catalyzed ylide formation/[2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of diazo compound 10 (Scheme 2). 

Carbonyl ylides possess versatile reactivities, among which the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition is the most common and important reaction. The reaction sequence of ylide formation and then 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition can occur in either inter- or intramolecular manner. When the reaction occurs intermolecularly, the overall reaction is a one-pot three-eomponent process leading to oxygen-containing five-membered cyclic compounds, as demonstrated by the example shown in Scheme 8. A mixture of diazo ester 64, benzaldehyde, and dimethyl maleate, upon heating to reflux in CH2CI2 in the presence of 1 mol% rhodium(ii) perfluorobutyrate [Rh2(pfb)4], yields tetrahedrofuran derivative 65 in 49% yield as single diastereomer. " ... 

C-H Insertion Reactions, Cycloadditions, and Ylide Formation of Diazo Compounds... 

Cyclopropanation reactions are one set in an array of C-C bond-forming transformations attributable to metal carbenes (Scheme 5.1) and are often mistakenly referred to by the nonspecific term carbenoid. Both cyclopropanation and cyclopropenation reactions, as well as the related aromatic cycloaddition process, occur by addition. Ylide formation is an association transformation, and insertion requires no further definition. All of these reactions occur with diazo compounds, preferably those with at least one attached carbonyl group. Several general reviews of diazo compounds and their reactions have been published recently and serve as valuable references to this rapidly expanding field [7-10]. The book by Doyle, McKervey, and Ye [7] provides an intensive and thorough overview of the field through 19% and part of 1997. 

Phenylcarbene and o-tolylcarbene (produced by laser flash photolysis of the diazo compounds) could not be directly observed in pentane at room temperature.22 Ylide formation in the presence of pyridine allowed the lifetimes of these species to be determined as 74 ns. In contrast, transient spectra of triplet mesitylcarbene were... 

Despite efficient conversions, a major drawback from practical and safety considerations is the use of (potentially) explosive diazo compounds. Consequently, the application was limited to small (mmol)-scale. Thus, replacement of the direct use of the diazo compound by suitable precursors which form the desired diazo compound in situ would be much more favorable. A remarkable improvement addressing this issue was recently achieved by the Aggarwal group [223, 224]. The key step was in-situ formation of the diazo compound starting from the tosylhydra-zone salt 222 under conditions (phase-transfer catalysis at 40 °C) compatible with the sulfur-ylide type epoxidation [223], The concept of this improved method is shown in Scheme 6.100. 

Carbenoid generation of nitrogen ylides represents a useful alternative to the widely employed base-promoted methodology.49 The reaction of aliphatic diazo compounds with tertiary amines was first investigated by Bamford and Stevens in 1952.50 The formation of a-benzyl-a-dimethyl-aminofluorene (99) from the reaction of diazofluorene (97) with ben-zyldimethylamine is consistent with a mechanism involving the generation of ammonium ylide 98 which then undergoes a [l,2]-benzyl shift. 

The success achieved with the Rh(II)-catalyzed transformations of -oximino diazo carbonyl compounds prompted our group to study some additional systems where the C-N 7i-bond was configurationally locked so that azomethine ylide formation would readily occur. Toward this end, we investigated the Rh(II)-catalyzed behavior of isoxazoline 186 in the presence of DMAD. This reaction afforded the azomethine-derived cycloadduct 187 as a 4 1 mixture of diastereomers in 65% yield. A similar transformation occurred using the a-diazoacetophenone derivative 188 which produced isoxazolo[3,2-a]isoquinoline 189 as a 2 1 mixture of diastereomers in 82% yield.84... 

While most of the initial studies have involved the transition metal-catalyzed decomposition of a-carbonyl diazo compounds and have been reviewed [3-51], it appears appropriate to highlight again some milestones of these transformations, since polycyclic structures could be nicely assembled from acyclic precursors in a single step. Two main reactivities of metalo carbenoids derived from a-carbonyl diazo precursors, namely addition to a C - C insaturation (olefin or alkyne) and formation of a ylid (carbonyl or onium), have been the source of fruitful cascades. Both of these are illustrated in Scheme 27 [52]. The two diazo ketone functions present in the same substrate 57 and under the action of the same catalyst react in two distinct ways. The initially formed carbenoid adds to a pending olefin to form a bi-cyclop. 1.0] intermediate 58 that subsequently cyclizes to produce a carbonyl ylide 59, that is further trapped intramolecularly in a [3 + 2] cycloaddition. The overall process gives birth to a highly complex pentacyclic structure 60. 

Tandem carbonyl ylide generation from the reaction of metallo carbenoids with carbonyl continues to be of great interest both mechanistically and synthetically. Effective carbonyl ylide formation in transition metal catalyzed reactions of diazo compounds depends on the catalyst, the diazo species, the nature of the interacting carbonyl group and competition with other processes. The many structurally diverse and highly successful examples of tetrahydrofuran formation cited in this mini-review clearly indicate that the tandem cyclization/cycloaddition cascade of metallo carbenoids has evolved as an important strategy in both carbo- and heterocyclic synthesis. 

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