Isocyanates Curtius rearrangement

Acyl azides may loose N2 on heating and rearrange to isocyanates (Curtius rearrangement), which may be solvolyzed. Some of the possibilities of classical carboxyl conversions are exemplified in the schemes below, which are taken from a triquinacene synthesis (R. Russo, 1971 C. Merder, 1973) and the ergotamine synthesis of A. Hofmann (1963). 

Hydrazides. Acyl halides, esters, and amides react with hydrazine to form hydrazides which are themselves useful synthetic intermediates. Treatment of the hydrazide with nitrous acid yields the acyl azide which, upon heating, gives isocyanates (Curtius rearrangement). Di- or trichlorides are obtained upon reaction with Phosphorus(V) Chloride Crotonate and other esters have been cleaved with hydrazine to liberate the free alcohol (eq 10). ... 

The preparation and properties of these tertiary aminimides, as weU as suggested uses as adhesives (qv), antistatic agents (qv), photographic products, surface coatings, and pharmaceuticals, have been reviewed (76). Thermolysis of aminimides causes N—N bond mpture foUowed by a Curtius rearrangement of the transient nitrene (17) intermediate to the corresponding isocyanate ... 

A third approach to 3-amino-/3-lactams is by Curtius rearrangement of the corresponding acyl azides. These are readily prepared from r-butyl carbazides, available via photochemical ring contraction of 3-diazopyrrolidine-2,4-diones in the presence of f-butyl carbazate (c/. Section 5.09.3.3.2). Thus treatment of (201) with trifluoroacetic acid followed by diazotiz-ation gives the acyl azide (202) which, in thermolysis in benzene and subsequent interception of the resulting isocyanate with r-butanol, yields the protected 3-amino-/3-lactam (203) (73JCS(P1)2907). 

The thermal decomposition of an acyl azide 1 to yield an isocyanate 2 by loss of N., is called the Curtius reaction - or Curtius rearrangement. It is closely... 

The Curtius rearrangement can be catalyzed by Lewis acids or protic acids, but good yields are often obtained also without a catalyst. From reaction in an inert solvent (e.g. benzene, chloroform) in the absence of water, the isocyanate can be isolated, while in aqueous solution the amine is formed. Highly reactive acyl azides may suffer loss of nitrogen and rearrange already during preparation in aqueous solution. The isocyanate then cannot be isolated because it immediately reacts with water to yield the corresponding amine. 

An isocyanate 2 formed by a Curtius rearrangement can undergo various subsequent reactions, depending on the reaction conditions. In aqueous solution the isocyanate reacts with water to give a carbaminic acid 6, which immediately decarboxylates to yield an amine 3. When alcohol is used as solvent, the isocyanate reacts to a carbamate 7 ... 

Acyl azides can undergo photolytic cleavage and rearrangement upon irradiation at room temperature or below. In that case acyl nitrenes 8 have been identified by trapping reactions and might be reactive intermediates in the photo Curtius rearrangement. However there is also evidence that the formation of isocyanates upon irradiation proceeds by a concerted reaction as in the case of the thermal procedure, and that the acyl nitrenes are formed by an alternative and competing pathway " ... 

The Curtius rearrangement is a useful method for the preparation of isocyanates as well as of products derived thereof. The substituent R can be alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, a heterocyclic or unsaturated group most functional groups do not interfere. 

Incorporation of the phenethyl moiety into a carbocyclic ring was at first sight compatible with amphetamine-like activity. Clinical experience with one of these agents, tranylcypromine (79), revealed the interesting fact that this drug in fact possessed considerable activity as a monamine oxidase inhibitor and as such was useful in the treatment of depression. Decomposition of ethyl diazoacetate in the presence of styrene affords a mixture of cyclopropanes in which the trans isomer predominates. Saponification gives acid 77. Conversion to the acid chloride followed by treatment with sodium azide leads to the isocyanate, 78, via Curtius rearrangement. Saponification of 78 affords tranylcypromine (79). 

Fusion of an all cyclic ring onto the piperidine so as to form a perhydroisoquinoline is apparently consistent with analgesic activity. Synthesis of this agent, ciprefadol (68), starts with the Michael addition of the anion from cyclohexanone 56 onto acrylonitrile (57). Saponification of the nitrile to the corresponding acid ( ) followed by Curtius rearrangement leads to isocyanate Acid... 

The methyl ester 2 can be converted into the trithiatriazepinamine 12 via the hydrazide 9. Nitrosation gives the azide 10. which undergoes a Curtius rearrangement to the isocyanate 11, which is not isolated but hydrolyzed in situ to the amine 12.418... 

The Curtius rearrangement involves the pyrolysis of acyl azides to yield isocy-anates. " The reaction gives good yields of isocyanates, since no water is present to... 

In contrast to the synthesis of carbocyclic rings, the Cope rearrangement has been used sparsely for generating azepinones. Recently, the enantioselectivity of the conversion of 2-aza-divinylcyclopropane 286 has been investigated. The synthesis started from the optically active cyclopropanecarboxylic acid (90% ee), which had been converted into the isocyanate 286 by initial azidation to 285 and a consecutive Curtius rearrangement. Furthermore, the conditions of the iso-... 

Section A of Scheme 10.15 contains a number of examples of Curtius rearrangements. Entry 1 is an example carried out in a nonnucleophilic solvent, permitting isolation of the isocyanate. Entries 2 and 3 involve isolation of the amine after hydrolysis of the isocyanate. In Entry 2, the dihydrazide intermediate is isolated as a solid and diazotized in aqueous solution, from which the amine is isolated as the dihydrochloride. Entry 3 is an example of the mixed anhydride procedure (see p. 948). The first stage of the reaction is carried out in acetone and the thermolysis of the acyl azide is done in refluxing toluene. The crude isocyanate is then hydrolyzed in acidic water. Entry 4 is a reaction that demonstrates the retention of configuration during rearrangement. 

The pyrido[l,2-tf][l,3,5]triazine-2,4(3//)-dione derivative 89 was obtained in a cycloaddition reaction of diphenyl-methyl isocyanate 90 with 2-pyridyl isocyanate 91 derived from the corresponding acyl azide via Curtius rearrangement <2002ARK438>. Compound 89 was also synthesized by the reaction of diphenylacetyl chloride 118 and picolinyl azide 116a in the presence of triethylamine (Scheme 11) <2002ARK438>. ... 

Significantly, trimethylsilyl azide is an excellent substitute for hydrazoic acid in many reactions-such as curtius rearrangement of acid chlorides to isocyanates which proceeds with Me3SiN3 in one pot process and in higher yields. 

The Curtius rearrangement of acid chlorides to isocyanates (60-70%) is conveniently conducted under mild conditions using preformed tetra-n-butylammonium azide [4, 5]. 

The origins of sonochemistry lie in the study of homogeneous systems and among the examples of early synthesis is the Curtius rearrangement which appeared in 1938 [34]. In this example benzazide gives nitrogen and phenyl isocyanate when sonicated in benzene (Eq. 3.1), and the rate is increased in comparison to the normal thermal reaction. This reaction was not fully investigated at the time and the observation that the reaction stopped after rapid initial steps was not explained. 

Curtius rearrangement is a well-known reaction of azides to form isocyanates [37]. It is taken into account in this overview, since in the example the azides are produced and reacted with a nucleophile in situ (in one flow), and thus the final product is composed from three starting components. 

The pyrrole derivative of carbonyl azide 206 undergoes thermal Curtius rearrangement into isocyanate, which spontaneously cyclizes into pyrrolo-diazepinone 207 (Equation (27) (1991JHC1911)). 

In contrast to the somewhat limited synthetic utility of nitrenes, there is an important group of reactions in which migration occurs to electron-deficient nitrogen. One of the most useful of these reactions is the Curtius rearrangement 16 This reaction has the same relationship to acylnitrene intermediates that the Wolff rearrangement does to acylcar-benes. The initial product is an isocyanate, which can be isolated or trapped by a nucleophilic solvent. 

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