Diazo ketones with carboxylic acids

When working on the acylation of diazomethane, Arndt and Eistert (1935) found the method for homologization of carboxylic acids in which acylation of the diazo ketone with the acid chloride is followed by a Wolff rearrangement (see discussion in Sect. 8.6). 

MO calculations have been carried out on the isomerization of cyclopropane to propene, and the MNDO method has been used to study the reaction pathway and to optimize the structure of reactant, transition structure, and product of the ring opening reaction of bicyclo[1.1.0]butane. Various methods have been employed to estimate the rate constants for ring opening of the 2-cyclopropyl-2-propyl radical. 1-Acceptor-1-sulfenyl-substituted 2-vinylcyclopropanes of the type (430) have been found to afford 6-sulfenyl-a,jS y, -unsaturated carboxylic esters and nitriles (431) upon treatment with acid, by a process which involves C(l)—C(2) bond fission and a novel 1,5-sulfenyl rearrangement (see Scheme 110). It has been shown that the benzophenone-sensitized photolysis of vinyl norcaradiene derivatives, such as 5-(2-methylprop-l-enyl)-3-oxatricyclo[4.4.0.0 ]deca-7,9-dien-4-ones (432), results in the regioselective cleavage of only one of the cyclopropyl c-bonds to afford isochroman-3-one derivatives (433). It has been reported that the major product obtained from the reaction of structurally diverse a-diazo ketones with an electron-rich alkene in the... 

Monohalo or dihalo alkanes, carboxylic acids, or ketones are obtained on treating diazoalkanes,1167 diazocarboxylic esters,1168 or diazo ketones with hydrogen halides or halogens. The reaction usually occurs at room temperature or below. However, preparative importance attaches only to the formation of the halo ketones from diazo ketones they are obtained free from isomers (cf. page 189). 

An elegant synthesis of -hydroxy acids from the next-lower (non-hydr-oxylated) carboxylic acids has been described by Weygand and Bestmann.43 They converted the acid chloride into the diazo ketone by means of diazomethane, treated the diazo ketone with ethanesulfenyl chloride, and decomposed the resulting ketone with aqueous alkali, e.g. ... 

The Wolff rearrangement of a-diazocarbonyl compounds (8.58, R = H, alkyl, aryl, OR) has great synthetic importance because in most cases the ketenes formed react smoothly with water, alcohols, and amines (Scheme 8-34). An early application that still has considerable importance is the homologization of carboxylic acids (Arndt-Eistert reaction Arndt and Eistert, 1935). As shown in Scheme 8-34, the reaction starts from the chloride of the acid RCOOH, which leads to an a-diazo ketone with diazomethane (R = H), followed by the Wolff rearrangement and the hydrolysis of the ketene intermediate to give the homologous carboxylic acid (8.59, R =H). In alcohols and amines esters (8.60) and amides (8.61, R = H), respectively. 

In a first step, the carboxylic acid 1 is converted into the corresponding acyl chloride 2 by treatment with thionyl chloride or phosphorous trichloride. The acyl chloride is then treated with diazomethane to give the diazo ketone 3, which is stabilized by resonance, and hydrogen chloride ... 

An a-diazo ketone 1 can decompose to give a ketocarbene, which further reacts by migration of a group R to yield a ketene 2. Reaction of ketene 2 with water results in formation of a carboxylic acid 3. The Woljf re arrangement is one step of the Arndt-Eistert reaction. Decomposition of diazo ketone 1 can be accomplished thermally, photochemically or catalytically as catalyst amorphous silver oxide is commonly used ... 

The ketocarbene 4 that is generated by loss of Na from the a-diazo ketone, and that has an electron-sextet, rearranges to the more stable ketene 2 by a nucleophilic 1,2-shift of substituent R. The ketene thus formed corresponds to the isocyanate product of the related Curtius reaction. The ketene can further react with nucleophilic agents, that add to the C=0-double bond. For example by reaction with water a carboxylic acid 3 is formed, while from reaction with an alcohol R -OH an ester 5 is obtained directly. The reaction with ammonia or an amine R -NHa leads to formation of a carboxylic amide 6 or 7 ... 

To set the stage for the crucial aza-Robinson annulation, a reaction in which the nucleophilic character of the newly introduced thiolactam function is expected to play an important role, it is necessary to manipulate the methyl propionate side chain in 19. To this end, alkaline hydrolysis of the methyl ester in 19, followed by treatment of the resulting carboxylic acid with isobutyl chlorofor-mate, provides a mixed anhydride. The latter substance is a reactive acylating agent that combines smoothly with diazomethane to give diazo ketone 12 (77 % overall yield from 19). 

The reaction between acyl halides and diazomethane is of wide scope and is the best way to prepare diazo ketones. Diazomethane must be present in excess or the HX produced will react with the diazo ketone (10-74). This reaction is the first step of the Amdt-Eistert synthesis (18-8). Diazo ketones can also be prepared directly from a carboxylic acid and diazomethane or diazoethane in the presence of dicyclohexyl-carbodiimide. ... 

While the detailed mechanism of these rhodium-catalyzed cyclizations is not known, a working hypothesis that accommodates all of the observations to date is as follows. The diazo ketone can be considered to be a stabilized ylide, 14. Association of the Lewis acidic LUMO of the rhodium(II) carboxylate with the locally electron-rich ylide yields 15. Loss of nitrogen would then give the highly electrophilic intermediate 16. In nondonating solvents, the richest source of electron density available to this reactive species is the remote C—H bond. Complexation with the electron density in this bond gives 17, which collapses to the cyclopentanone product. 

Appropriately substituted diazo ketones have been converted into oxetanes in two instances by Wolf rearrangement processes. The structure of compound (52) was established by X-ray crystallography (69MI51300, 81CSC345). Reaction of 4,4-dibromo-2,2,5,5-tetramethyltetrahydro-3-furanone with aqueous base is a good method of preparation for 3-hydroxy-2,2,4,4-tetramethyloxetane-3-carboxylic acid (equation 90) (66JA1242). 

The transformation of an active CH compound into the corresponding diazo derivative with -toluenesulfonyl azide has been designated a diazo transfer reaction and possesses a variety of preparative uses. The method has been useful for the syntheses of diazo derivatives of cyclopentadiene, 1,3-dicar-bonyl compounds, 1,3-disulfonyl compounds,1,3-keto-sulfonyl compounds, ketones, " carboxylic acid esters, and /3-keto imines. Further reaction of these diazo intermediates can lead to azo compounds,"- " 1,2,3-triazoles, and pyrazolinones. ... 

Carboxylic acids can be converted to esters with diazo compounds in a reaction essentially the same as lO-II. In contrast to alcohols, carboxylic acids undergo the reaction quite well at room temperature, since the reactivity of the reagent increases with acidity. The reaction is used where high yields are important or where the acid is sensitive to higher temperatures. Because of availability diazomethane (CH2N2) " is commonly used to prepare methyl esters, and diazo ketones are common. The mechanism is as shown in 10-11. 

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