Oxazoles nitriles

Loss values for the undoped Ultradel 9000D are well within performance criteria of < 1.5 dB/cm for electrooptic devices Minimum loss in doped and undoped samples occurs near 1060 nm. Optical losses for pure Ultradel 9000D cured at 300°C are at or below 1 dB/cm in the range 850-1350 nm. For dye-doped samples, losses are below 3 dB/cm in the same region. At 1060 nm, loss for 20%-wt 2,5-nitrile-oxazole samples was 0.5-0.7 dB/cm greater than for the 5 or 10 %-wt samples. These losses were the subject of further investigations (vide infra). DCM doped U9000D has lower losses than the 2,5-nitrile-oxazole samples (1.4 dB/cm at 1060 nm) however, this sample was cured at a lower temperature (250°C) due to excessive thermal decomposition at 300°C. 

Figure 6. PDS Spectra of 2,5-Nitrile-Oxazole (Il-a) Doped Ultradel 9000D. ...

UV-Vis absorption spectra for triaryl nitrile-oxazole were determined in solvents of varying polarity. Dilute solutions (- 10-5 M) ofHPLC purified dyes were employed to eliminate concerns of spurious absorptions arising from dye-dye or dye-impurity interactions. Cell path lengths of 10.0 cm were used to maximize small absorption signals. Within experimental limits, no discernible charge-transfer absorptions were observed in any dye-solvent system in the region 600-900 nm. Minor solvatochromic effects were observed for absorption maxima. 

Figure 7. UV-Vis absorption spectra for nitrile-oxazole (I) in various solvents. Solvent (in descending order at 600 nm) benzene, ethyl benzoate, anisole and benzonltrlle. Inset solvent (in descending order at 360 rim) anisole, ethyl benzoate, benzonitrile and benzene.

For isoxazoles the first step is the fission of the weak N—O bond to give the diradical (51) which is in equilibrium with the vinylnitrene (52). Recyclization now gives the substituted 2//-azirine (53) which via the carbonyl-stabilized nitrile ylide (54) can give the oxazole (55). In some cases the 2H-azirine, which is formed both photochemically and thermally, has been isolated in other cases it is transformed quickly into the oxazole (79AHC(2.5)U7). 

Decomposition of the diazoacetic ester (548) to the keto carbene (549) is promoted by copper(II) trifluoromethanesulfonate. In the presence of nitriles, 1,3-dipolar addition to the nitrile occurred giving the oxazole (550) (75JOM(88)ll5) (see also Section 4.03.8.1). 

Photolysis in general produced oxazoles and a variety of other products including aminochalcones, nitriles, aldehydes and chalcone oximes. A number of photolytic intermediates have been postulated, represented by (151), (152), (153) and (154) (77CL1195, 75T1373, 73HCA2588, 73TL2283). 

Oxazole synthesis from benzoin and nitriles or ammonium formate. 

The cyclizations of conjugated nitrile ylides forming substituted oxazoles and thiazoles were computed up to the MP4/6-31H-G level [OOJOC47]. Relative to 23, oxazole-4-carboxylic acid24 is stabilized by about -38.1 kcal/mol (Scheme 18). 

More recently, Williams has described the one pot synthesis of 2-substituted oxazoles 11 by the thermolysis of triazole amides 9 the reaction does not proceed photo-chemically.<92TL1033> Although the reaction does not involve addition to a nitrile, it is an interesting application of a diazo compound since the proposed zwitterionic intermediate 10 is a resonance form of a diazo imine, so formally the reaction may be thought of as a thermal decomposition of a diazo imine (Scheme 6). 

Oxazole formation can be envisaged as proceeding by three possible pathways 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of a free ketocarbene to the nitiile (Path A), the formation and subsequent 1,5-cyclisation of a nitrile ylide (Path B) or the formation and subsequent rearrangement of a 2-acyl-2//-azirine (Path C) (Scheme 9). 

Despite the above, there is also considerable evidence to suggest that oxazole formation proceeds via an intermediate nitrile ylide, particularly in the catalysed reactions (see below). Nitrile ylides have been detected in laser flash photolysis studies of diazo compounds in the presence of nitriles, and stable nitrile ylides can be isolated in some cases.<94CRV1091>... 

Although 2-acyl-2//-azirines are known to give oxazoles upon irradiation, the reaction is wavelength dependent, and isoxazoles are formed at some wavelengths, as they are in the thermal rearrangement of 2-acyl-2//-azirines.<74TL29,75JA4682> Since the thermal reaction of diazocarbonyl compounds with nitriles leads to oxazole formation, it would seem that mechanistic path C is unlikely in these reactions. 

The role of Lewis acids in the formation of oxazoles from diazocarbonyl compounds and nitriles has primarily been studied independently by two groups. Doyle et al. first reported the use of aluminium(III) chloride as a catalyst for the decomposition of diazoketones.<78TL2247> In a more detailed study, a range of Lewis acids was screened for catalytic activity, using diazoacetophenone la and acetonitrile as the test reaction.<80JOC3657> Of the catalysts employed, boron trifluoride etherate was found to be the catalyst of choice, due to the low yield of the 1-halogenated side-product 17 (X = Cl or F) compared to 2-methyI-5-phenyloxazole 18. Unfortunately, it was found that in the case of boron trifluoride etherate, the nitrile had to be used in a ten-fold excess, however the use of antimony(V) fluoride allowed the use of the nitrile in only a three fold excess (Table 1). 

Kitatani et al. found that tungsten(VI) chloride would catalyse the formation of a range of oxazoles from benzoyl(phenyl)diazomethane and nitriles (Scheme 17).<74TL1531, 77BCJ1647> The reaction with acetonitrile was studied with a range of other metal chlorides, but all proved less satisfactory than WCle. They attributed the catalytic nature of tungsten(Vl) chloride to both its Lewis acidity and the affinity of tungsten for carbenes. 

Much of the early work into the rhodium(II)-catalysed formation of oxazoles from diazocarbonyl compounds was pioneered by the group of Helquist. They first reported, in 1986, the rhodium(II) acetate catalysed reaction of dimethyl diazomalonate with nitriles.<86TL5559, 93T5445, 960S(74)229> A range of nitriles was screened, including aromatic, alkyl and vinyl derivatives with unsaturated nitriles, cyclopropanation was found to be a competing reaction (Table 3). 

Whatever the exact mechanism, the rhodium(II) catalysed reaction of diazocarbonyl compounds with nitriles is a useful route to oxazoles. A further example from our own laboratory illustrates the use of the reaction in the synthesis of the oxazolylindole alkaloids pimprinine 43a, pimprinethine 43b, and WS-30581A 43c. Diazoacetylindole 42 reacted with simple nitriles in the presence of rhodium(ll) trifluoroacetamide to give the corresponding oxazoles, deprotection of which gave the natural products 43 (Scheme 24).<94S1021>... 

To date most of the nitriles studied have been simple alkyl or aromatic derivatives with little other functionality. We recently attempted to extend the reaction to iV-protected a-aminonitriles, derived by dehydration of a-aminoacid amides (Path A, Scheme 25), but this proved unsatisfactory, and therefore we investigated an alternative diazocarbonyl based route in which the order of steps was reversed, i.e. a rhodium catalysed N-H insertion reaction on the amide followed by cyclodehydration to the oxazole (Path B, Scheme 25). 

The order of events In this synthesis can be varied - one possibility is to keep the nitrile until after the oxazole has been made. The acid chloride is used for the cyclisation. 

A new approach to the synthesis of 2,4,5-trisubstituted and 2,5-disubstituted oxazoles, 97 and 98, used l-(methylthio)acetone 95 with nitriles in the presence of trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride. The proposed mechanism involves an unstable 1-(methylthio)-2-oxopropyl triflate 96 which was detected using NMR spectroscopy <06JOC3026>. 

Application of the Ritter reaction conditions on y-hydroxy-a,P-alkynoic esters, 102, produced ethyl 5-oxazoleacetates 103 or y-A-acylamino-P-keto ester 104 by reaction with aryl or alkyl nitriles respectively. The y-A-acylamino-P-keto ester 104 can also be transformed into oxazole derivatives using an additional step involving POCI3 <06TL4385>. 

A more elaborate approach was taken by Kaffy et al. [94], The goal of the research was a series of compounds with greater stability and a higher affinity for endothelial cells within tumor vessels than CA-4, 7 however, the paper described a method that was purely synthetic. The synthetic strategy involved a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of a nitrile oxide 186 with a substituted aryl alkyne 187 to form the oxazole 188. 

The generation of electrophilic carbene complexes in the presence of nitriles or other cyano-group-containing compounds can lead to the formation of nitrile ylides. With acylcarbene complexes the final products are often 1,3-oxazoles [1194], presumably formed by the mechanism sketched in Figure 4.10. 

Fig. 4.10. Possible mechanism for the formation of 1,3-oxazoles from acylcarbene complexes and nitriles.

Trapping of the intermediate acyl nitrile ylide with dimethyl acetylenedicar-boxylate leads to pyrroles in low yields (< 18%) [1250]. Representative examples of the preparation of oxazoles with carbene complexes are listed in Table 4.18. 

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