Nitrenes thermolysis, azides

Attempts to obtain ring-expanded products by photolysis of azides in the presence of diethylamine were successful only for the 6-azido compound (Section III,C).193 4-Azidobenzo[i>]thiophene gave, inter alia, 4-amino-benzo[b]thiophene and 4,4 -azobenzo[f>]thiophene, probably via triplet nitrene.366 The-5-azido isomer gave 4-amino-5-diethylaminobenzo[h]thiophene, probably via an azirine intermediate, derived from singlet nitrene. Thermolysis of 4-azidobenzo[b]thiophene in PPA-AcOH gave 4-acetamido-... 

The main example of a category I indole synthesis is the Hemetsberger procedure for preparation of indole-2-carboxylate esters from ot-azidocinna-mates[l]. The procedure involves condensation of an aromatic aldehyde with an azidoacetate ester, followed by thermolysis of the resulting a-azidocinna-mate. The conditions used for the base-catalysed condensation are critical since the azidoacetate enolate can decompose by elimination of nitrogen. Conditions developed by Moody usually give good yields[2]. This involves slow addition of the aldehyde and 3-5 equiv. of the azide to a cold solution of sodium ethoxide. While the thermolysis might be viewed as a nitrene insertion reaction, it has been demonstrated that azirine intermediates can be isolated at intermediate temperatures[3]. 

The concentration of alkyl azidoformate used in these decompositions is important since with an excess (0.5 molar equiv) of azide, thermolysis at 130°C results in the formation of 1 2 1 //-azepine (methoxycarbonyl)nitrene adducts as the major products.145,146... 

Photolysis of aryl azides in amine solution, with a tertiary amine as cosolvent to promote stabilization of the singlet nitrene, has met with some success. For example, the yield of 2-piperidino-3 W-azepme. obtained by the photolysis of phenyl azide in piperidine, is increased from 35 to 58% in the presence of A A /V. /V -tetramethylethylenediamine (TMLDA).180 Also, an improved yield (36 to 60 %) of A,(V-diethyl-3W-azepin-2-amine (38, R = Et) can be obtained by irradiating phenyl azide in triethylamine, rather than in dicthylaminc, solution.181 Photolysis (or thermolysis) of phenyl azide in TMEDA produces, in each case, 38 (R = Et) in 40% yield.181 In contrast, irradiation of phenyl azide in aniline with trimethylamine as cosolvent furnishes jV-phenyl-377-azepin-2-amine (32, R = Ph) in only low yield (2%).35... 

Thermolysis of the vinyl azide 26 in xylene yields ethyl 8-(mcthoxymcthyl)-l,8-dihydro-benz[2,3]azepino[4,5- >]indole-2-carboxylate (27) by attack of the vinyl nitrene at the 2-phenyl group.83... 

Analogous to the decomposition of diazoalkanes, thermolysis of azides leads to the production of nitrenes. This is exemplified for ethyl... 

Aziridines can be prepared directly from double-bond compounds by photolysis or thermolysis of a mixture of the substrate and an azide. The reaction has been carried out with R = aryl, cyano, EtOOC, and RSO2, as well as other groups. The reaction can take place by at least two pathways. In one, the azide is converted to a nitrene, which adds to the double bond in a manner analogous to that of carbene addition (15-62). Reaction of NsONHC02Et/ CuO [Ns = A(/7-toluenesulfonyl-inimo)] and a conjugated ketone, for example, leads to the A-carboethoxy aziridine derivative.Calcium oxide has also been used to generate the nitrene.Other specialized reagents have also been used." ... 

Aziridines are important compounds due to their versatility as synthetic intermediates. In addition, aziridine rings are present in innumerable natural products and biologically active compounds. Nitrene addition to alkenes is one of the most well established methods for the synthesis of aziridines. Photolysis or thermolysis of azides are good ways to generate nitrenes. Nitrenes can also be prepared in situ from iodosobenzene diacetate and sulfonamides or the ethoxycarbonylnitrene from the A-sulfonyloxy precursor. 

The triplet state is usually the ground state for non-conjugated structures, but either species can be involved in reactions. The most common method for generating nitrene intermediates, analogous to formation of carbenes from diazo compounds, is by thermolysis or photolysis of azides.246... 

More recent work 8> shows that the S—N bond can be cleaved by hydroperoxides and that aromatic sulphonyl azides only undergo free radical thermal decomposition if a source of radicals is provided. Some light on the nature of the radical transfer agent has recently been shed by the observation 14> that dodecyl azides are formed (2.3%) in the thermolysis of mesitylene-2-sulphonyl azide (3) at 150 °C in w-dodecane under nitrogen. It seems likely that a dodecyl radical is produced by hydrogen abstraction by the triplet nitrene (5) [mesitylene-2-sulphonamide was also formed (1.1%)] which then attacks undecomposed sulphonyl azide... 

Evidence for the formation of alkyl and aryl radicals in some cases following loss of SO2 (Scheme 1) has been obtained. Thus, a small amount of M-pentane was formed in the decomposition of M-pentanesulphonyl azide in mineral oil ). Thermolysis of diphenyl sulphone-2-sulphonyl azide (8) in dodecane at 150 °C gave diphenyl sulphone 9 (27%) and diphenyl sulphone-2-sulphonamide 10 (9%) which arise by hydrogen abstraction by the aryl radical and sulphonyl nitrene, respectively. When this thermolysis was carried out in Freon E-4 at 150 °C, the products were diphenylene sulphone 77 (1.3%) (Pshorr-type cyclization product of the aryl radical) and 10 (1.5%) together with tars 16h Ferro-... 

Arylsulphonyl nitrenes usually give better yields of hydrogen-abstraction products from aliphatic hydrocarbons. -Toluenesulphonyl azide gave a 5% yield of -toluenesulphonamide on thermolysis in cyclohexane... 

On the other hand, thermolysis of ferrocenylsulpkonyl azide (14) in aliphatic solvents may lead to the predominant formation of the amide (16) 17>. A 48.4% yield of (16) was obtained from the thermolysis in cyclohexane while an 85.45% yield of 16 was formed in cyclohexene. Photolysis of 14 in these solvents led to lower yields of sulphonamide 32.2% in cyclohexane, 28.2% in cyclohexene. This suggests again that a metal-nitrene complex is an intermediate in the thermolysis of 14 since hydrogen-abstraction appears to be an important made of reaction for such sulphonyl nitrene-metal complexes. Thus, benzenesulphonamide was the main product (37%) in the copper-catalyzed decomposition of the azide in cyclohexane, and the yield was not decreased (in fact, it increased to 49%) in the presence of hydroquinone 34>. On the other hand, no toluene-sulphonamide was reported from the reaction of dichloramine-T and zinc in cyclohexane. 

Photolysis of ferrocenylsulphonyl azide in cyclohexene gave the corresponding aziridine derivative (9%), but thermolysis did not 17>. This could be an addition of the triplet nitrene to the olefin and studies on the stereospecificity of this reaction are under way. 

When mesitylene-2-sulphonyl azide (3) is heated to 150 °C in n-dodecane, a Curtius-type rearrangement of the nitrene (4) occurs as discussed in Section 2.1 i to give 2,4,6-trimethylaniline and the hexa-methylazobenzene 14>. A similar result has now been observed by a careful analysis of the thermolysis products of durene-3-sulphonyl azide in w-dodecane at 150 °C. The amine is definitely formed but the azo-compound could barely be detected 13>. 

This indicates that the prebaking temperature higher than the melting point of the azide decomposes the azide (50%) and it totally decomposes upto 100 mJ/cm2 irradiation. It is possible that subsequent reactions of the nitrene, generated from the azide thermolysis and photolysis, with the styrene resin could be responsible for solubility modulation of this type resist (16). 

It has been shown that the thermolysis of arenesulphonyl azides with benzene to yield A-arenesuIphonylazepines (44-80%) is aided by the addition of Adogen [30], Sulphonylazepines have also been obtained from the reaction of tetra-n-butylammo-nium salts of sulphonamides with benzene in the presence of xenon difluoride the reaction probably proceeds via the intermediate nitrene [31 ]. 

Diphenyl- -triazole is aminated by reaction with hydroxylamine-0-sulfonic acid. The I - and 2-aminotriazoles are formed in approximately equal amounts. Intramolecular amination of 1- and 2-aryltriazoles is achieved by generating a nitrene intermediate in the ortho position of the aryl substituent for example, in the thermolysis (Scheme 42) of the azide (17). ... 

Nitrene 68, derived by nitro group deoxygenation of 67a or by thermolysis of azide 67b, cyclized to a mixture of 69 and 70 [80JCS(P1)982]. 

The addition of nitrenes leads predominantly to the closed [6,6] bridged isomers. The corresponding [5,6] bridged isomer is - if at all - formed only in small amounts, probably via a direct addition to the [5,6] bond [394]. Nitrenes have been generated by thermolysis of azido-formic esters [172,395 00], photolysis of aroyl azides [401] or aryl azide [402], elimination of O-4-nitrophenylsulfonylalkylhydroxamic acid [403] or reaction of amines with Pb(OAc)4 [404]. 

Several simple derivatives of azetine are known, although most of these bear substituents that help stabilize the compound by extending the conjugation of the endocyclic double bond. For example, 2-phenylazetine is obtained by the thermolysis of 1-azido-l-phenylcyclopropane nitrogen is lost from the azide group and a nitrene may be formed, prior to ring expansion (Scheme 8.2). 

JV-Alkoxycarbonyl- and iV-arenesulfonyl-imines can be prepared by the reaction between pyridines and nitrenes, the latter being generated from the corresponding azides (72JOC2022, 64TL1733). Thermolysis of pyridinium iV-acylimines gives isocyanates and the parent heterocycle <79JCS(P1)446). 

The first tantalum nitrene was obtained in 1959 by thermolysis of [Ta(NEt2)]5-288 This class of compounds is presently accessible by several routes, including hydrogen abstraction from the mono- or di-alkylamides, reaction of metallacarbenes with organic imines, oxidation of low valent species by organic azides, or reductive coupling of nitriles (Table 13). The tantalum derivatives are usually stabler than those of niobium. 

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