Methylene cyclopropane, from decomposition

The Wolff rearrangement of six- and five-membered a-diazocycloalkanones has been extensively applied to the synthesis of highly strained frameworks. The rearrangement of an (x-diazo-cyclobutanone was reported from 2-diazo-3,4-bis(diphenylmethylene)cyclobutanone (1). The diazo ketone (1) was prepared by treatment of the 3,4-bis(diphenylmethyl-ene)cyclobutane-l,2-dione tosylhydrazone with alumina in 95% overall yield from the corresponding cyclobutanedione. Irradiation in the presence of water, alcohols and aniline afforded 1-carboxy-, 1-alkoxycarbonyl- and 1-phenylcarbamoyl-substituted 2,3-bis(diphenyl-methylene)cyclopropanes 2, respectively, in 13-87% yields. Thermal decomposition in aqueous dioxane afforded the cyclopropanecarboxylic acid 2 (X = OH) in 52% yield. ... 

The preparation of cyclopropane derivatives has been greatly facilitated by the development of carbene-type intermediates (see Chapter 13) and their ready reaction with olefins. The preparation of phenylcyclopropane from styrene and the methylene iodide-zinc reagent proceeds in only modest yield, however, and the classical preparation of cyclopropane derivatives by the decomposition of pyrazolines (first employed by Buchner in 1890) is therefore presented in the procedure as a convenient alternative. 

The yield of trans product (18) is decreased by the presence of a radical scavenger such as 1,1-diphenylethylene and increased by dilution of the reactants with methylene chloride or butane, indicating this product to result from the triplet carbene. A heavy-atom effect on the carbene intermediate was observed by photolysis of a-methylmercuridiazoacetonitrile. With c/s-2-butene as the trapping agent either direct photolysis or triplet benzophenone-sensitized decomposition results in formation of cyclopropanes (19) and (20) in a 1 1 ratio ... 

The occurrence of methylene elimination by reaction (7) is suggested by the presence of traces of cyclopropane in the products, as well as allene which may result from C3H6 decomposition. The decrease of propene yield with increasing pressure is attributed to a pressure-dependence of reaction (8). The direct decomposition of cyclobutane by reaction (9) is thought not to occur, but is equivalent to (2)-I- (5) or to (6) if C4H7 decomposes to the appropriate fragments. 

Methylene ( CH2) generated photochemically or thermally from diazomethane is highly reactive and is prone to incur side reactions to a substantial extent. In order to avoid these undesirable complexities, the cyclopropanation of multiple bonds with diazomethane has usually been carried out under catalytic conditions The catalysts most frequently employed are copper salts and copper complexes as well as palladium acetate. The intermediate produced in the copper salt-catalyzed reactions behaves as a weak electrophile and exhibits a preference to attack an electron-rich double bond. It is also reactive enough to attack aromatic nuclei. In contrast, the palladium acetate-catalyzed decomposition of diazomethane cyclopropanates a,a- or a,jS-disubstituted a,jS-unsaturated carbonyl compounds in high yields (equation 47). The trisubstituted derivatives, however, do not react. The palladium acetate-catalyzed reaction has been applied also for the cyclopropanations of some strained cyclic alkenesstyrene derivatives and terminal double bondsHowever, the cyclopropanation of non-activated, internal double bonds occurs only with difficulty. The difference, thereby. 

In contrast to the wealth of chemistry reported for catalyzed reactions of diazocarbonyl compounds, there are fewer applications of diazomethane as a carbenoid precursor. Catalytic decomposition of diazomethane, CH2N2, has been reported as a general method for the methylenation of chemical compounds [12]. The efficacy of rhodium catalysts for mediating carbene transfer from diazoalkanes is poor. The preparative use of diazomethane in the synthesis of cyclopropane derivatives from olefins is mostly associated with the employment of palladium cat-... 

Obtained from active methylene compounds, such as malonic esters, -0x0 esters and jS-oxo sulfones, iodonium ylides serve as precursors of the corresponding carbenes. Their decomposition by a catalytic amount of a copper salt in the presence of a C-C double bond has been used for inter- and intramolecular cyclopropanation reactions. Thus, reaction of cyclohexene with bis(methoxycarbonyl)methylene(phenyl)iodine(III) under the catalytic action of bis(acetylacetonato)copper(II) yielded dimethyl bicyclo[4.1.0]heptane-7,7-dicarboxylate (1) (38%, mp 91-93°C) in addition to tetrakis(methoxycarbonyl)ethene (41%). ... 

Although the addition of carbene to a double bond to make a cyclopropane is well known, it is not particularly useful synthetically because of the tendency for extensive side reactions and lack of selectivity for thermally or photochemically generated carbenes. Similar processes involving carbenoids (species that are not free carbenes) are much more useful from the preparative standpoint [91,92]. For example, metal catalyzed decomposition of diazoalkanes usually results in addition to double bonds without the interference of side reactions such as C-H insertions. Consider the possible retrosynthetic approaches to a 1,2-disubstituted cyclopropane shown in Figure 6.8. Disconnection a entails the addition of a methylene across a double bond, a conversion that is often stereospecific e.g., the Simmons-Smith reaction [93]). Disconnections b and c are more problematic, since the issue of cis/trans product isomers (simple diastereoselection) arises. 

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