Iodine azide azirine synthesis

One of the best known reactions of 1-azirines is the acid/catalyzed hydrolysis to aminoketones. Since the Neber reaction also accomplishes this same synthetic end, this reaction may appear to have little practical value. This is not the situation because with the Neber reaction there is no control over the aminoketone that will be obtained from a given ketone. For example, when oxime (127) derived from benzyl methyl ketone (126) is subjected to the Neber reaction aminoketone 128 is obtained.59 The amino function is substituted for the most acidic a-hydrogen. The isomeric aminoketone (132) that could not be prepared by the Neber reaction can be formed by the hydrolysis of 1-azirine (131). The synthesis of this 1-azirine has been accomplished from allyl benzene (129) through vinyl azide (130) using iodine azide.22... 

Hassner and Fowler1 have found that the addition of iodine azide to olefins provides a general synthesis of 2H-azirines ... 

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