Diazoalkanes to alkynes

Not all vinylcarbenes will cyclize to the cyclopropene. For example, those with an acyl substituent on the carbene-bearing center preferentially undergo a Wolff rearrangement, but the most significant limitations to the scope of this synthetic route arise from the problems of making the required 3//-pyrazoles. Many routes exist, but as far as cyclopropene synthesis is concerned, the 3/f-pyrazoles have been made (1) by addition of diazoalkanes to alkynes (2) from dihydropyrazoles (3) from cyclization of a,/l-unsaturated tosylhydrazones and finally (4) by modification of the structure of other 37/-pyrazoles. 

The cycloaddition of diazoalkanes to alkynes gives pyrazoles the use of stannyl alkynes ° produces tin derivatives of the heterocycle (cf. 4.1.6), for use in subsquent electrophilic ipio-displacements, or in palladium(0)-catalysed couplings. Aryl-diazomethanes can be generated in situ, from tosylhydrazones, for formation of pyrazoles. ... 

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of diazoalkanes to alkynes leads to pyrazoles, e.g. ... 

The diazo transfer from diazoalkanes to alkynes has also been applied to diphenyl-alkynylphosphine oxides. Low regiospecificity with unsymmetrically substituted alkynes was also observed here (Heydt and Regitz, 1977, 1978). 

Whereas the Rh2(OAc)4-catalyzed addition of diazoalkanes to propargyl alcohols readily gives the insertion of the carbene into the 0-H bond, with only a small amoimt of cyclopropenation of the resulting propargylic ether [54] the 2-diazopropane 59 reacts at 0 °C with l,l-diphenyl-2-propyn-l-ol 62a in dichloromethane and exclusively gives, after 10 h of reaction, only the adduct 63a isolated in 75% yield and corresponding to the regioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of the 2-diazopropane to the alkyne C - C bond (Scheme 15). 

Alkynes add nitrile oxides and diazoalkanes to give isoxazoles (60) and pyrazoles (61), respectively, in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions. If an alkene is used instead of an alkyne the non-aromatic analogues (62 Z = NH, O) result (94AHC(60)26l) yields are best when the alkene contains an electron-withdrawing substituent. 

The addition of diazoalkanes to alkenes and alkynes has been shown to be a HOMOdiazoalkane-LUMOdipo,arophi,e controlled reaction,5153 and because the orbital energies of imines are comparable to those of electron-poor olefins, the reactivity of diazoalkanes toward imines may also be considered a HOMOdiazoalkane-LUMOimine favored interaction.338... 

Vinyl sulfoxides have been used as synthetic equivalents of alkynes in reactions with diazoalkanes to prepare pyrazoles. The initially obtained adducts subsequently eliminate or rearrange the sulfoxide moiety to achieve pyrazoles lacking the sulfur function. Thus, the adducts resulting by reaction of CH2N2 with the sulfinylated double bond of allenyl sulfoxides 213 are transformed through a sulfoxide-sulfenate rearrangement into hydroxymethyl pyrazoles 214 [168], whereas those obtained by reaction with sulfinyl coumarins 215 suffered sulfinyl elimination into the pyrazoles 216 [169]. In both cases l,H-pyrazoles were obtained as a consequence of a final tautomerization step (Scheme 101). These studies were carried out on racemic sulfoxides. 

The ruthenium-catalyzed addition of diazo compounds to alkynes has led to the selective synthesis of functional 1,3-dienes by the combination of two molecules of diazoalkane and one of alkyne [106] (Eqs. 82,83). The stereoselective formation of these conjugated dienes results from the selective creation of two C=C double bonds rather than leading to the cyclopropene derivative. This is expected to be due to the possibility for the C5Me5RuCl moiety to accomodate two cis carbene ligands. 

Ring expansion of a number of (cyclopropenyl)diazoalkanes gives cyclobutadiene derivatives, e.g. reaction of 7, though in some cases, fragmentation occurs leading to alkynes (see Section 10.A.2.2.). ° There is evidence that the cyclobutadienes are formed through singlets, while the alkynes are derived from triplets. 

Cycloaddition of 1,3-dipolarophiles to alkynes for the synthesis of diazo compounds can also be applied to reaction of diazoalkanes with alkynes (2-91). 2-Diazopropane and 1,2-diarylethynes readily form 3//-pyrazoles (2.229). These pyrazoles isomerize photochemically to the 4-diazo-2-methyl-3,4-diarylbutenes (2.230), i.e., to a vinyldiazo compound (Pincock et al., 1973 Arnold et al., 1976 Leigh and Arnold, 1979). Some cyclopropene (2.231) is formed in a consecutive dediazoniation, i. e., by cyclization of the carbene formed. The method is not useful for unsymmetrically substituted alkynes because these cycloadditions are not regiospecific. It is, however, applicable to the synthesis of diazoalkenes with alicyclic... 

The rates of 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of diazoalkanes to alkenes and alkynes have been determined electron-attracting substituents in the latter increase the rate, in accordance with frontier molecular orbital theory, which predicts that these reactions are controlled by the interaction of the highest occupied molecular orbital of the diazo-compound with the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the dipolarophile " the kinetics of the reactions of methyl diazoacetate or phenyl diazomethanesulphonate, on the other hand, give rise to U-shaped activity functions, which is also explained by the theory. Diazomethane or... 

It is noteworthy that the addition of an excess of the 2-diazopropane to the alkynes 62a,b did not give the corresponding bisadduct of diazoalkane. It... 

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions to unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds have been known for quite some time and have become an important part of strategies for organic synthesis of many compounds (Smith and March, 2007). The 1,3-dipolar compounds that participate in this reaction include many of those that can be drawn having charged resonance hybrid structures, such as azides, diazoalkanes, nitriles, azomethine ylides, and aziridines, among others. The heterocyclic ring structures formed as the result of this reaction typically are triazoline, triazole, or pyrrolidine derivatives. In all cases, the product is a 5-membered heterocycle that contains components of both reactants and occurs with a reduction in the total bond unsaturation. In addition, this type of cycloaddition reaction can be done using carbon-carbon double bonds or triple bonds (alkynes). 

The mechanism of the reaction has generally been discussed in terms of a thermally allowed concerted 1,3-dipoIar cycloaddition process, in which control is realized by interaction between the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of the dipole (diazoalkane) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the dipolarophile (alkyne).76 In some cases unequal bond formation has been indicated in the transition state, giving a degree of charge separation. Compelling evidence has also been presented for a two-step diradical mechanism for the cycloaddition77 but this issue has yet to be resolved. 

Polymer-supported benzenesulfonyl azides have been developed as a safe diazotransfer reagent. ° These compounds, including CH2N2 and other diazoalkanes, react with metals or metal salts (copper, paUadium, and rhodium are most commonly used) to give the carbene complexes that add CRR to double bonds. Diazoketones and diazoesters with alkenes to give the cyclopropane derivative, usually with a transition-metal catalyst, such as a copper complex. The ruthenium catalyst reaction of diazoesters with an alkyne give a cyclopropene. An X-ray structure of an osmium catalyst intermediate has been determined. Electron-rich alkenes react faster than simple alkenes. ... 

The intermolecular addition of a carbene to a cyclopropene to give a bicyclo-[l.l.OJbutane is not a viable synthetic method since products of ring cleavage are usually observed However, diazoalkane addition to a cyclopropene (or bis-addition to an alkyne) is known to occur and subsequent deazetation generally leads to bicyclobutane and diene by separate pathways. 

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