Diazo reactions, Table

As early as 1964 Frey observed that the ratio of 1,1-dimethylcyclopropane and 2-methyl-2-butene, the products from intramolecular reactions of tert-butyl diazomethane, was strongly dependent on the method used to decompose the diazo compound (Table The response of the community of carbene chemists was... 

Pauly s diazo reaction is more specific for all iododerivatives of tyrosine, thyronine, and histidine, and it is also more sensitive (31). The technique described by Block and Bolling (2) is suitable. The colors of the spots are given in Table II. 

On the basis of the nucleophilicity parameters B, NBs, and fi (see Table 8-2) one expects less of the homolytic product in water than in methanol. This is, however, not the case. It has been known for many decades that a very complex mixture of products is formed in the decomposition of diazonium ions, including polymeric products, the so-called diazo tars. In alcohols this is quite different. The number of products exceeds three or four only in exceptional cases, diazo tars are hardly formed. For dediazoniation in weakly alkaline aqueous solutions, there has, to the best of our knowledge, been only one detailed study (Besse et al., 1981) on the products of decomposition of 4-chlorobenzenediazonium fluoroborate in aqueous HCOf/ CO]- buffers at pH 9.00-10.30. Depending on reaction conditions, up to ten compounds of low molecular mass were identified besides the diazo tar. 

The diazo transfer reaction between p-toluenesulfonyl azide and active methylene compounds is a useful synthetic method for the preparation of a-diazo carbonyl compounds. However, the reaction of di-tert-butyl malonate and p-toluenesulfonyl azide to form di-tert-butyl diazomalonate proceeded to the extent of only 47% after 4 weeks with the usual procedure." The present procedure, which utilizes a two-phase medium and methyltri-n-octylammonium chloride (Aliquat 336) as phase-transfer catalyst, effects this same diazo transfer in 2 hours and has the additional advantage of avoiding the use of anhydrous solvents. This procedure has been employed for the preparation of diazoacetoacetates, diazoacetates, and diazomalonates (Table I). Ethyl and ten-butyl acetoacetate are converted to the corresponding a-diazoacetoacetates with saturated sodium carbonate as the aqueous phase. When aqueous sodium hydroxide is used with the acetoace-tates, the initially formed a-diazoacetoacetates undergo deacylation to the diazoacetates. Methyl esters are not suitable substrates, since they are too easily saponified under these conditions. 

Table 6. Cyclopropanation reactions with ethyl diazoacetate using equimolar amounts of alkene and diazo ester" b... 

As it is known from experience that the metal carbenes operating in most catalyzed reactions of diazo compounds are electrophilic species, it comes as no surprise that only a few examples of efficient catalyzed cyclopropanation of electron-poor alkeiies exist. One of those examples is the copper-catalyzed cyclopropanation of methyl vinyl ketone with ethyl diazoacetate 140), contrasting with the 2-pyrazoline formation in the purely thermal reaction (for failures to obtain cyclopropanes by copper-catalyzed decomposition of diazoesters, see Table VIII in Ref. 6). 

Products of a so-called vinylogous Wolff rearrangement (see Sect. 9) rather than products of intramolecular cyclopropanation are generally obtained from P,y-unsaturated diazoketones I93), the formation of tricyclo[2,1.0.02 5]pentan-3-ones from 2-diazo-l-(cyclopropene-3-yl)-l-ethanones being a notable exception (see Table 10 and reference 12)). The use of Cu(OTf), does not change this situation for diazoketone 185 in the presence of an alcoholl93). With Cu(OTf)2 in nitromethane, on the other hand, A3-hydrinden-2-one 186 is formed 160). As 186 also results from the BF3 Et20-catalyzed reaction in similar yield, proton catalysis in the Cu(OTf)2-catalyzed reaction cannot be excluded, but electrophilic attack of the metal carbene on the double bond (Scheme 26) is also possible. That Rh2(OAc)4 is less efficient for the production of 186, would support the latter explanation, as the rhodium carbenes rank as less electrophilic than copper carbenes. 

Reaction of ketocarbenoids with pyrrole and N-alkylpyrroles yields the product of formal insertion into the a-C—H bond (256) in many cases the -insertion product 257 is formed concomitantly, but generally in lower yield 238-241 >. The regioselectivity varies according to the catalyst, the diazo compound and the N-alkyl substituent. Some examples concerning the former two variables are given in Table 18 239 240). 

Occurence of olefins which are, formally speaking carbene dimers, as well as of similar products (R2C=N—N=CR2, R2CH—CHR2) represents an usually unwanted side-reaction which the chemist endeavors to suppress as far as possible. Nevertheless, conditions for high-yield synthesis of carbene dimers from several diazo compounds have been reported in the past13,141. Some novel examples, published since the last review14) was written, are listed in Table 22. 

Hydride and 1,2-alkyl shifts represent the most common rearrangement reactions of carbenes and carbenoids. They may be of minor importance compared to inter-molecular or other intramolecular processes, but may also become the preferred reaction modes. Some recent examples for the latter situation are collected in Table 23 (Entries 1-10, 15 1,2-hydride shifts Entries 11-15 1,2-alkyl shifts). Particularly noteworthy is the synthesis of thiepins and oxepins (Entry 11) utilizing such rearrangements, as well as the transformations a-diazo-p-hydroxyester - P-ketoester (Entries 6, 7) and a-diazo-p-hydroxyketone -> P-diketone (Entry 8) which all occur under very mild conditions and generally in high yield. 

The rhodium-catalyzed conversion of a-diazo-p-hydroxy carbonyl into P-dicarbonyl compounds (Table 23, Entries 6-8) in general seems to be preferable to the acid-catalyzed reaction because of higher yields and absence of side-reactions 37S,377). From a screening of 20 metal salts and complexes, Rh2(OAc)4, RhCl(PPh3)3, PdCl2 and CoCl2 emerged as the most efficient catalysts for the transformation of a-diazo-P-hydroxy esters into P-ketoesters 376). This reaction has become part of... 

Allenyltitanium intermediates have also been found to react with diazo dicarboxy-lates to afford propargylic hydrazides (Table 9.25) [41]. The reaction proceeds with overall retention of configuration. The enantioselectivity of the process decreases with increasing steric demands of the propargylic substituent of the phosphate precursor (Eq. 9.36). 

The reaction of activated methylene groups with tosyl azide to yield the corresponding diazo derivatives proceeds in high yield [23]. The phase-transfer catalysed reaction is sensitive to the strength of base used the reaction of acetoacetic esters requires relatively mild conditions, otherwise diazoacetic esters are produced (Table 5.41). 

Triplet-Intermediates from Diazo-Compounds (Carbenes) Table 7. Reactions of triplet-carbenes in solution... 

Addition of ethyl acetate to a specimen having a transaminase activity of 47 units was responsible for the following increases in enzyme activity 10 mg/100 ml, 60 units 20 mg/100 ml, 77 units 40 mg/100 ml, 107 units and 80 mg/100 ml, 150 units. Transaminase activity in these specimens determined by another method ranged from 32 to 34 units (C7). Thus, when serum from patients with ketosis is assayed for aspartate aminotransferase activity by the diazo method, false elevations of activity may be recorded due to reaction of acetoacetic acid. In Table 11 are shown some values obtained by the diazo method and by an ultraviolet NADH NAD aspartate aminotransferase technique (B12). Examination of the medical records of these patients indicated that they were either diabetics who were in ketosis or individuals who were eating very poorly and had some degree of starvation ketosis. Similar elevations have been observed in patients receiving p-aminosalicylic acid (G6). 

Diazocycloalkanones with five- to twelve-membered rings can be synthesized by the present procedure in good yields (Table I).4 Diazo transfer with deformylation can also be used for the preparation of bicyclic a-diazo ketones.10,11 A related procedure involving reaction of the sodium salt of an a-(hydroxy methylene)-ketone with p-toluenesulfonyl azide in ethanol has been applied to the synthesis of diazoalkyl ketones, a-diazo aldehydes, and a-diazo carboxylic esters.12... 

In search of a convenient procedure for preparing diazo substrates for the cycloaddition to Cgg, Wudl introduced the base-induced decomposition of tosyl-hydrazones [116]. This procedure allows the in situ generation of the diazo compoimd without the requirement of its purification prior to addition to Cgg. Since they are rapidly trapped by the fullerene, even unstable diazo compounds can be successfully used in the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. In a one-pot reaction the tosyUiydrazone is converted into its anion with bases such as sodium methoxide or butylHfhium, which after decomposition readily adds to Cgg (at about 70 °C). This method was first proven to be successful with substrate 142. Some more reactions that indicate the versatility of this procedure are shown in Table 4.4. Reaction of 142 with CgQ under the previously described conditions and subsequent deprotection of the tert-butyl ester leads to [6,6]-phenyl-C5j-butyric acid (PCBA) that can easily be functionalized by esterification or amide-formation [116]. PCBA was used to obtain the already described binaphthyl-dimer (obtained from 149 by twofold addition) in a DCC-coupling reaction [122]. 

A completely different approach was used to probe the reactivity of tert-butyl-carbene, one of Frey s original examples. Table 7.6 shows the varying products of thermal and photochemical decomposition of the diazo compound. It would appear that carbon-hydrogen insertion and carbon-carbon insertion are about equally facile in the carbene presumed to be formed in photolytic reactions. Even in 1964, this observation should have seemed strange (as it clearly did to... 

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