Dihydro electrocyclic ring opening

The concept of electrocyclic ring opening of a 1,2-dihydro six-membered heterocycles is familiar from the numerous examples found after nucleophilic attack, especially on cationic rings. Similar reactions occur with isolated 1,2-dihydro derivatives. Dihydropyridines can undergo isomerization by electrocyclic ring opening (see Equation 10). 1 -Vinyl- 1,2-dihydropyridines in a somewhat similar sequence yield pyridines via azacycloocatrienes (Equation 11). 

UV Irradiation of an 3-aryl-2-azidoacrylic ester (2-azidocinnamate) results in elimination of nitrogen and formation of a 2/f-azirine, which undergoes spontaneous electrocyclic ring opening to give a reactive intermediate which can react as an azomethine ylide dipole or an alk-oxycarbonyl(benzylidenimino)carbene. In favorable cases, the carbene form can be trapped by intramolecular [l-t-2] cycloaddition to an alkene double bond to give a dihydro-cyclopropa[c]isoquinoline, e.g.l, and 2 (Houben-Weyl, Vol. E19b, pi 166). 

The (diphenylmethylene)aminocyclobutenecarboxylates 109 obtained by rearrangement of the DMPA-H adducts of 1-Me, 2-Me, contain a 2-azadiene unit and a cyclobutene moiety. Indeed, the parent compound 109 a reacted with 4-phenyl-l,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione (PTAD, [80]) at room temperature in a [4-1-2] cycloaddition mode to yield the tricyclic tetraazaundecene 132 in almost quantitative yield (Scheme 44) [8]. As substituted cyclobutenes, compounds 109 should be capable of opening up to the corresponding butadienes [1, 2b, 811. When compounds 109 were subjected to flash vacuum pyrolysis, the dihydro-isoquinolines 135 were obtained, presumably via the expected ring-opened intermediates 133, which subsequently underwent bn electrocyclization followed by a 1,5-shift, as is common for other 3-aza-l,3,5-hexatrienes [82]. 

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