Diazomethane cycloaddition reactions

The stereochemistry of the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction is analogous to that of the Diels-Alder reaction and is a stereospecific syn addition. Diazomethane, for example, adds stereospecifically to the diesters 43 and 44 to yield the pyrazolines 45 and 46, respectively. 

Mechanistically the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction very likely is a concerted one-step process via a cyclic transition state. The transition state is less symmetric and more polar as for a Diels-Alder reaction however the symmetry of the frontier orbitals is similar. In order to describe the bonding of the 1,3-dipolar compound, e.g. diazomethane 4, several Lewis structures can be drawn that are resonance structures ... 

The cycloaddition reaction of diazomethane 4 and an olefin, e.g. methyl acrylate 5, leads to a dihydropyrazole derivative 6 ... 

The first [3S+2C] cycloaddition reaction using a Fischer carbene complex was accomplished by Fischer et al. in 1973 when they reported the reaction of the pentacarbonyl(ethoxy)(phenylethynyl)carbene complex of tungsten and diazomethane to give a pyrazole derivative [45]. But it was 13 years later when Chan and Wulff demonstrated that in fact this was the first example of a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction [46,47a]. The introduction of a bulky trime-thylsilyl group on the diazomethane in order to prevent carbene-carbon olefi-nation leads to the corresponding pyrazole carbene complexes in better yields (Scheme 15). 

More recently, [2+3] cycloaddition reaction of the tri-te/t-butylphenylphosphaethyne (25) has been reinvestigated, when in spite of the steric encumbrance of extremely bulky Mes group, the use of trimethylsilylated diazomethane (24) makes its cycloaddition successful, which is followed by SiMe3/H migration yielding bulky [l,2,4]diazaphospholes [33], Phosphaalkyne 25 reacts with 24 in a regioselective manner to form intermediate cycloadduct 26, which undergoes facile aromatization... 

Diels-Alder reactions of 83 with various dienophiles occur regioselectively to form condensed tetra- or pentacycles of the type 11977. (2 + 1) Cycloaddition reactions between 2 and carbenes are also known78. While exposure of 2 to diazomethane in the presence of CuCl leads to a mixture of mono-, di-, tri- and tetracyclopropanated products, transfer of... 

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of diazomethane to MFA (24) occurred exclusively at the C2-C3 Jt-bond to give 4-(fluoromethylene)pyrazolines. The methylene group of diazomethane was regioselectively attached to the C2 carbon atom of 24 with a syw.anti ratio of 88 12 [72b], DFA (25) similarly reacted with diazomethane to give 4-(difluoromethylene)pyrazoline 89 selectively [72b, 86], The cycloaddition reaction of bulkier 2-diazopropane with DFA was less regioselective. 

A second well-known dipolar cycloaddition reaction which is useful for the synthesis of thia-diazoles utilizes diazomethane and its derivatives. 

Reactions of aliphatic thiones (139) with diazomethane yields a mixture of isomers via a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction. Larger R groups lead to the formation of 1,3,4-thiadiazolines... 

The stereochemistry of the [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction between phosphaacetylene and diazomethane has been investigated by ab initio calculations. The regioisomeric intermediate leading to the 1,2,4-diazaphosphole was found to be slightly more stable than that leading to the 1,2,3-diazaphosphole <96Mi 422-02 >. 

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of diazoalkanes with alkenes has also been reported (395). Kanemasa and Kanai (395) used the chiral DBFOX-Ph ligand with various metals such as Ni, Zn, and Mg for the preparation of 255a-c. The reaction of TMS-diazomethane 171 with alkene 241 was catalyzed by 10 mol% of 255b to afford the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition product 296 in good yields and enantioselectivities of up to 99% ee (Scheme 12.96). Also, the Ni-catalyst 255a and the Mg-catalyst 255c were excellent catalysts for the reaction, resulting in >90% ee in both cases. 

The exocyclic double bond of 4-arylidene-5(47/)oxazolones 383 reacts with diazomethane in a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction to give the corresponding... 

Dipolar Cycloaddition Reactions. Dehydroamino acid derivatives behave as dipolarophiles in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions that leads to a variety of interesting compounds. For example, 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of diazomethane to dehydroamino acid esters 475 and 481 gives the corresponding pyrazolines 476 and... 

TABLE 7.47. OXAZOLONE SPIROCYCLOPROPANES FROM 1,3-DIPOLAR CYCLOADDITION REACTION OF UNSATURATED 5(4/7)-OXAZOLONES WITH DIAZOMETHANE... 

Substituted l,2,4-triazoline-3,5-diones are excellent dienophiles which react rapidly at room temperature with oxepins, but particularly with the arene oxide valence tautomer. A similar [4+2] cycloaddition reaction between the episulfide tautomer of thiepin (44) and 4-phenyl-l,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione has been reported (74AG(E)736>. Benzene episulfide (the valence tautomer of thiepin 44) was generated in situ by thermal decomposition of the diepisulfide (151) at 20 °C and trapped as a cycloadduct at the same temperature (equation 34). A 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction between thiepin (152) and diazomethane has been reported (56CB2608). Two possible cycloadduct products are shown since the final structure has not been unequivocally established (equation 35). 

Although it has been established that the HOMO (diazoalkane)-LUMO (alkene) controlled concerted cycloaddition occurs without intervention of any intermediate for the reactions of simple diazoalkanes with alkenes, Huisgen once proposed a mechanistic alternative 4 namely an initial hypothetical nitrene-type 1,1-cycloaddition reaction of phenyldiazomethane to styrene followed by a vinylcyclopropane-cy-clopentene-type 1,3-sigmatropic rearrangement Control experiments, however, excluded this hypothesis for the bimolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of diazomethane (Scheme 60).204... 

Olefinic double bonds substituted with one or more electron-withdrawing groups show significant dipolarophilic activity in cycloaddition reactions with organic azides,43,276-278 similar to the electron-rich double bonds of enamines and enol ethers the reactivity is less pronounced in azide additions compared to that observed in diazomethane reactions.7 The first triazolines reported resulted by the action of aryl azides on benzoquinones.1,279-281 As a rule, stereospecific cis additions occur,32 which are usually unidirectional except in the case of methacrylic derivatives67 and certain alkenes bearing... 

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