Nitrile imines, reactions

In a manner analogous to classic nitrile iinines, the additions of trifluoro-methylacetonitrile phenylimine occur regiospecifically with activated terminal alkenes but less selectively with alkynes [39], The nitnle imine reacts with both dimethyl fumarate and dimethyl maleate m moderate yields to give exclusively the trans product, presumably via epimenzation of the labile H at position 4 [40] (equation 42) The nitrile imine exhibits exo selectivities in its reactions with norbornene and norbornadiene, which are similar to those seen for the nitrile oxide [37], and even greater reactivity with enolates than that of the nitnle oxide [38, 41], Reactions of trifluoroacetomtrile phenyl imine with isocyanates, isothiocyanates, and carbodiimides are also reported [42]... 

Intramolecular reactions of nitrile imines as a fruitful source of heterocycles 98H(47)541. 

Bcnzotriazepincs 10 are produced in the reaction of nitrile imines 9 with 2-phenyl-benzazctc.379... 

An alternative strategy for generating 4,5-dihydropyrazoles is to perform 1,3-dipo-lar cydoaddition reactions of nitrile imines and alkenes. Langa and coworkers have... 

Spiro[3H-indole-3,5(4.H)-(l,2,4)triazoline]-2-one derivatives 204 have been obtained using microwave irradiation in the reaction between imines of isatin 203 and nitrile imines generated in situ from the corresponding hydrazonyl chlorides 199 (Scheme 9.63). The yields are in the range 85-95% and the reaction is complete within 5 min [110]. Similar reactions performed under thermal conditions were complete in 6-10 h and yields decreased to 20-30%. However, when the reaction was performed at ambient temperature, the products were obtained in excellent yields but only after a prolonged reaction time (30 h). 

Burk et al. showed the enantioselective hydrogenation of a broad range of N-acylhydrazones 146 to occur readily with [Et-DuPhos Rh(COD)]OTf [14]. The reaction was found to be extremely chemoselective, with little or no reduction of alkenes, alkynes, ketones, aldehydes, esters, nitriles, imines, carbon-halogen, or nitro groups occurring. Excellent enantioselectivities were achieved (88-97% ee) at reasonable rates (TOF up to 500 h ) under very mild conditions (4 bar H2, 20°C). The products from these reactions could be easily converted into chiral amines or a-amino acids by cleavage of the N-N bond with samarium diiodide. 

Simultaneous formation of a two-ring system from acyclic intermediates has also been reported. For example, the reaction of carbonyl-stabilized sulfur ylides with nitrile imines afforded furo[3,2-c]pyrazoles (69TL853). 

A number of organic species, including amides, oximes, and nitriles, undergo reductive amination, a variety of reduction reactions that produce cimines. In general, these processes involve imines, R=N-R, or related species. Reduction processes include hydrogenation using Raney nickel as the catalyst (for nitriles), the reaction with sodium/EtOH (for oximes), and the use of lithium aluminum hydride, LiAlH (for amides or nitriles). Figure 13-16 illustrates the preparation of amphetamine by reductive amination. 

Dihydrodiazepines have been shown to undergo regioselective cycloaddition reactions with nitrile oxides or nitrile imines (88MI1 89JHC1619). 

A series of pyrazolino[60]fullerenes has been prepared in one-pot reactions by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of the corresponding nitrile imines [306-311]. In all cases... 

Thus in the N-silyl substituted series, 17 and 18, which rearrange thermally to the corresponding diazo compounds, the stability increases through the series R=Me, Ph, i-Pr. As discussed below, these compound undergo the usual cycloaddition and electrocyclization reactions of nitrile imines and are not simply overstabilized curiosities. The usefulness in synthesis of those with P—C bonds is probably limited since these bonds are not easily broken, but products derived from those with C—Si and C—B bonds (e.g., 21 and 22) should be capable of further... 

Of the general methods for the generation of transient nitrile imines for use in synthesis (19), perhaps the most convenient are the base-induced dehydrochlorination of hydrazonyl chlorides and the oxidation of hydrazones. Developments in both of these areas have either increased the convenience of the method or given a deeper insight into the reaction mechanism. 

This reaction is one of the most versatile and, hence, most extensively used routes to nitrile imines (130). It does, however, have the disadvantage that some... 

The use of organomagnesium reagents as bases leads to complexation of the nitrile imines (e.g., 141), which has been found to have a strong effect in promoting syn selectivity in reactions with methyl 2-(l-hydroxyalkyl)acrylates via coordination of the metal atom with the alcoholic oxygen (e.g., leading to the formation of 142). Lithium complexation had little effect (78). 

The oxidation of hydrazones 143 provides, in principle, a very convenient route to nitrile imines from easily accessible starting materials. However, the earliest reagent used, lead tetraacetate, was of limited effectiveness as yields were low and the reaction often gave high yields of diacyUiydrazides as byproducts. Work has been done on the apphcation of several other oxidants to this process to produce a more effective general route. The one that has proved most popular is chloramine T (A(-chloro-A(-sodio-p-toluenesulfonamide, CAT) which is used under mild conditions and has been shown to work well for both cycloaddition (79) (e.g., in the preparation of 146 from 145) and electrocychzation (80) reactions. 

Stannyl diazo compounds are less reactive than their lithium analogues and, containing a bigger metal atom, strongly favor reaction at N to give nitrile imines (e.g., 155 from 154). The use of bis(trimethylstannyl)diazomethane (156) provides an easy one-step route to symmetrically substituted systems (e.g., 157). 

Variously substituted nitrile imines are easily available and react readily with a wide range of double and triple bonds. Intermolecular cycloaddition is therefore an area of major interest, and a large proportion of the papers on the use of nitrile ylides in synthesis is concerned with the exploitation of this reaction. Space limitation means, regrettably, that work leading to results that were predictable on the basis of known chemistry (19) has generally not been included. 

Extensive studies on diastereoselectivity in the reactions of 1,3-dipoles such as nitrile oxides and nitrones have been carried out over the last 10 years. In contrast, very little work was done on the reactions of nitrile imines with chiral alkenes until the end of the 1990s and very few enantiomerically pure nitrile imines were generated. The greatest degree of selectivity so far has been achieved in cycloadditions to the Fischer chromium carbene complexes (201) to give, initially, the pyrazohne complexes 202 and 203 (111,112). These products proved to be rather unstable and were oxidized in situ with pyridine N-oxide to give predominantly the (4R,5S) product 204 in moderate yield (35-73%). 

Enantiomerically pure nitrile imines (211) have also been generated by the lead tetraacetate oxidation of aldehydo sugar p-nitrophenyl hydrazones. Reaction with methyl acrylate gave the pyrazolines as a 1 1 mixture of the (55) and (5R) epimers, which were resolvable in some cases (116). 

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