Elimination from nitrogen compounds

The amino functional group is not commonly encountered in steroid synthesis except perhaps in steroidal alkaloids. However, certain elimination reactions have been shown to have theoretical and limited preparative importance, largely due to the efforts of McKenna and co-workers. The Hofmann rule for 2 elimination predicts that alkaline elimination of quaternary ammonium salts will occur towards the carbon carrying the most hydrogen atoms cf. the converse Saytzeff orientation, above). In cyclohexyl systems, the requirement for diaxial elimination appears to be important, as in other 2 eliminations, and the Hofmann rule frequently is not obeyed [e.g., (116) (117)]. 

In the case of 7a-quaternary salts (118), the course of elimination depends very much on the conditions employed thus, in neutral ethanol the process has Ey character and produces cholest-7-ene (119), whereas under alkaline conditions cholest-6-ene (120) is the nearly exclusive product. 

Various factors, including steric effects and the relative acidity of the P hydrogens, have been suggested as being most important in such eliminations.  

The acid catalyzed elimination of acylated amines has recently been described and is said to resemble the acid dehydration of alcohols in character  

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Photo-de-diazoniation has found relatively little application in organic synthesis, as is clearly evident from the annual Specialist Periodical Reports on Photochemistry published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. Since the beginning of these reports (1970) they have contained a section on the elimination of nitrogen from diazo compounds, written since 1973 by Reid (1990). In the 1980s (including 1990), at least 90% of each report is concerned with dediazoniations of diazoalkanes and non-quinon-oid diazo ketones, the rest being mainly related to quinone diazides and only occasionally to arenediazonium salts. 

The kinetics of thermal decomposition and depolymerisation of various polymers is discussed. The aim of the study was to find reaction conditions where different polymers can be separated from mixtures by decomposing them into their monomers or into pyrolysis products and where chlorine and/or nitrogen are eliminated from the polymers without forming toxic compounds. Data are given for PVC, PS, PE, and PR 13 refs. 

The most common example is decomposition of azo compounds, where —X—Y— is -N=N-.311 The elimination of nitrogen from cyclic azo compounds can be carried... 

Elimination of nitrogen from D-A adducts of certain heteroaromatic rings has been useful in syntheses of substituted aromatic compounds.315 Pyrazines, triazines, and tetrazines react with electron-rich dienophiles in inverse electron demand cycloadditions. The adducts then aromatize with loss of nitrogen and a dienophile substituent.316... 

H-Pyr azoles readily undergo photochemically induced elimination of nitrogen to yield the corresponding cyclopropenes, often by way of detectable vinyl diazo intermediates. l-Aryl-3-methyl-2-phenyl-l-diazobut-2-enes have, in fact, been prepared in this way from the appropriate pyrazoles.345 The vinyl diazo compounds 416, obtained by irradiation of the 3//-pyrazoles 417, were further converted to cyclopropenes 418 via vinylmethylene intermediates 419 by irradiation at 10°C.346 1-Acylcyclopropenes have been... 

Kinetic studies showed the rate of nitrogen elimination from compound 4a (Scheme 4) is first order and correlates with the Y value of the solvent (79JOC1717). A slower rate of decomposition was observed in more polar media. This would seem to reflect a greater solvation of starting material, which retards the nitrogen-extrusion process in more polar media. If the intermediate is better represented by 12 rather than 13, nitrogen elimina-... 

The most widely studied example is decomposition of azo compounds, where —X—Y— is —N=N—,220 The elimination of nitrogen from cyclic azo compounds can be carried out either photochemically or thermally. Although the reaction generally does not proceed by a concerted mechanism, there are some special cases in which concerted elimination is possible. We will consider some of these cases first and then consider the more general case. 

Introduction of a benzene ring facilitates the intramolecular reaction and when the thiatriazoline (55a) is liberated from its tetrafluoroborate salt, a spontaneous elimination of nitrogen takes place at RT. Compound (55b) could be isolated but thermolyzes smoothly in ethanol at 75 °C to give the expected product. 

This method of nitrogen elimination from tetrahydropyridazines is frequently used in the synthesis of polycyclic systems. The thermolysis, as well as photolysis, of 2,3-diazabicy-clo[2.2.1]hept-2-enes gave bicyclo[2.1.0]pentanes via intermediate formation of cyclopenta-1.3-diyl, from which bicyclic compounds with one three-membered and one four-membered segment are formed this type of reaction is discussed in Houben-Weyl, Vol. E17b, pp 1089-1108 and 1163-1166. 

The most reliable method for generating nitrenes is the thermal or photochemical elimination of nitrogen from azides. An alternative method which is useful for indole and carbazole synthesis is the deoxygenation of aromatic nitro compounds with trivalent phosphorus compounds. Triethyl phosphite is the most commonly used reagent, though more reactive compounds may be useful in special cases (B-79MI30600). 

Triazines react also with electron-rich dienophiles such as ethyl vinyl ether (401 R = Et) or vinyl acetate (401 R = Ac) in boiling dioxane to yield the pyridine derivatives (376). After the usual [4 + 2] cycloaddition and nitrogen elimination from the bicyclic compound (402), the dihydropyridines (403) eliminate ethanol or acetic acid to give the aromatic pyridines (376). The dienophiles (401) can therefore be used as alkyne equivalents (69TL5171). 

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