Dimethyl maleate, azomethine ylide generation

Garner et al. (90,320) used aziridines substituted with Oppolzer s sultam as azomethine ylide precursors. The azomethine ylide generated from 206 added to various electron-dehcient alkenes, such as dimethyl maleate, A-phenylmalei-mide, and methyl acrylate, giving the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition product in good yields and up to 82% de (for A-phenylmaleimide). They also used familiar azomethine ylides formed by imine tautomerization (320). Aziridines such as 207 have also been used as precursors for the chiral azomethine ylides, but in reactions with vinylene carbonates, relatively low de values were obtained (Scheme 12.59) (92). 

Besides the use of porphyrins as azomethinic ylide derivatives, the porphyrin macrocycle can also be used to generate porphyrinic nitrile oxides 55 (Scheme 17) <04RCB(E)2192>. Thus, the treatment of oxime 54 with /V-bromosuccinimide in the presence of triethylamine, led to the formation of nitrile oxide 55, which was trapped in 1,3-DC reactions with dimethyl maleate and 2,5-norbomadiene to afford 56 and 57, respectively. In the reaction with 2,5-norbomadiene, if an excess of 55 was used, then the corresponding bis-adduct was obtained in good yield. 

An interesting reaction was observed on phase-transfer generation of dichlorocarbene in the presence of mono- and 1,2-disubstituted hydrazines and dimethyl maleate. In this case the initially formed ammonium ylide 511 transforms to azomethine imine 512 followed by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition to an olefin providing pyrazolines 513 96ISV(ip). 

Several methods for making pyrroles involve in situ generation of azomethine ylides and anions. In the presence of electrophilic acetylenes these can be trapped and converted to pyrroles. One source of azomethine ylides are A -(a-trimethylsilylmethyl) derivatives of imidates and thioimidates. Azomethine ylides are generated by desilylation with fluoride ion. The salts are obtained by N-alkylation of imidate esters <83TL4303> or S-alkylation of thioacetamides <86JOCi997>. The alkoxy or alkylthio groups are eliminated after cycloaddition. Electrophilic alkenes such as dimethyl maleate, dimethyl fumarate, maleonitrile and methyl acrylate give A -pyrrolenines (Scheme 80). 

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