Dinitrogen activation catalytic

A. Ozaki and K. Aika. Catalytic Activation of dinitrogen, ibid. pp. 87-158, Volume 7 B.E. Koel and G.A. Somorjai. Surface stmctural chemistiy, pp. 159-218. 

Diazocarbonyl compounds, especially diazo ketones and diazo esters [19], are the most suitable substrates for metal carbene transformations catalyzed by Cu or Rh compounds. Diazoalkanes are less useful owing to more pronounced carbene dimer formation that competes with, for example, cyclopropanation [7]. This competing reaction occurs by electrophilic addition of the metal-stabilized carbocation to the diazo compound followed by dinitrogen loss and formation of the alkene product that occurs with regeneration of the catalytically active metal complex (Eq. 5.5) [201. 

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