Nitrogen ketene intermediates

Photochemical or thermal extrusion of molecular nitrogen from ot-diazocarbonyl compounds generates a-carbonylcarbenes. These transient species possess a resonance contribution from a 1,3-dipolar (303, Scheme 8.74) or 1,3-diradical form, depending on their spin state. The three-atom moiety has been trapped in a [3 + 2] cycloaddition fashion, but this reaction is rare because of the predominance of a fast rearrangement of the ketocarbene into a ketene intermediate. There are a steadily increasing number of transition metal catalyzed reactions of diazocarbonyl compounds with carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom double bonds, that, instead of affording three-membered rings, furnish hve-membered heterocycles which... 

A ketene intermediate is not required in order to generate the P-lactam. In the case of 2.111, ketene formation is not possible. Reaction of the acid chloride with the imine, however, generates an intermediate where the nitrogen can displace the bromine moiety to give the lactam. The reaction of 2.111 and 2.115 proceeded, in the presence of pyridine, to give 2.772.55 Reaction with HCl gave 2,2-diethyl-3-aminopropanoic acid, 2.113. Similarly, 2,2-dipropyl and 2,2-dibutyl-3-aminopro-panoic acids were prepared from the appropriate acid chloride and 2.110. ... 

Another variation in the reaction of imines involves the titanium catalyzed condensation of a Schiff base with a ketene silyl acetal to give a p-lactam. The TiCU catalyzed reaction of 2.114 (derived from propanal and phenethylamine) and 2.775 led to 2.116. The reaction was mediated by a nitrogen-TiCla intermediate. Hydrolysis of the P-lactam and reduction of the N-benzylic group with hydrogen and palladium gave 2,2-dimethyl-3-aminopentanoic acid, 2.117. In this study, chiral... 

The mechanism of the classic ketene-imine reaction to form /J-lactams [17,18] is thought to involve perpendicular attack of the imine nitrogen on the ketene carbonyl carbon from the side of the sterically smaller of the two groups, followed by conrotatory closure of the zwitterionic intermediate (Eq. 6). This... 

The results of low-temperature matrix-isolation studies with 6 [41a] are quite consistent with the photochemical formation of cyclo-Cif, via 1,2-diketene intermediates [59] and subsequent loss of six CO molecules. When 6 was irradiated at A > 338 nm in a glass of 1,2-dichloroethane at 15 K, the strong cyclobut-3-ene-1,2-dione C=0 band at 1792 cm in the FT-IR spectrum disappeared quickly and a strong new band at 2115 cm appeared, which was assigned to 1,2-diketene substructures. Irradiation at A > 280 nm led to a gradual decrease in the intensity of the ketene absorption at 2115 cm and to the appearance of a weak new band at 2138 cm which was assigned to the CO molecules extruded photo-chemically from the 1,2-diketene intermediates. Attempts to isolate cyclo-Cig preparatively by flash vacuum pyrolysis of 6 or low-temperature photolysis of 6 in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran in NMR tubes at liquid-nitrogen temperature have not been successful. 

The ketenes will then react readily with any nucleophiles present in the system, e.g. H20 below. The reaction can be brought about by photolysis, thermolysis, or by treatment with silver oxide. In the first two cases an actual carbene intermediate (55) is probably formed as shown above, in the silver catalysed reaction loss of nitrogen and migration of R may be more or less simultaneous. In the case where R is chiral, e.g. C4H9C MePh, it has been shown to migrate with retention of its configuration (cf. p. 117). 

Photolysis or thermolysis of heteroatom-substituted chromium carbene complexes can lead to the formation of ketene-like intermediates (cf. Sections 2.2.3 and 2.2.5). The reaction of these intermediates with tertiary amines can yield ammonium ylides, which can undergo Stevens rearrangement [294,365,366] (see also Entry 6, Table 2.14 and Experimental Procedure 2.2.1). This reaction sequence has been used to prepare pyrrolidones and other nitrogen-containing heterocycles. Examples of such reactions are given in Figure 2.31 and Table 2.21. 

A similar synthesis of mechanistic interest rather than preparative value involves the thermal reaction of dimethyl 2,5-bisdiazo-3,4-diketoadipate (89, Scheme 23) with benzofuran (91)." The presumed intermediate is the pyrone cation 90 produced from the adipate 89 by the Wolff rearrangement, cyclization, and loss of nitrogen. Electrophilic substitution then affords the benzofuran 92, which can be isolated. Ring opening and cyclization of the resultant ketene 93 then affords the dibenzofuran 94 in poor (0.4%) yield. 

Abstract The main computational studies on the formation of (3-lactams through [2+2] cycloadditions published during 1992-2008 are reported with special emphasis on the mechanistic and selectivity aspects of these reactions. Disconnection of the N1-C2 and C3-C4 bonds of the azetidin-2-one ring leads to the reaction between ketenes and imines. Computational and experimental results point to a stepwise mechanism for this reaction. The first step consists of a nucleophilic attack of the iminic nitrogen on the sp-hybridized carbon atom of the ketene. The zwitterionic intermediate thus formed yields the corresponding (3-1 actant by means of a four-electron conrotatoty electrocyclization. The steroecontrol and the periselectivity of the reaction support this two-step mechanism. The [2+2] cycloaddition between isocyanates and alkenes takes place via a concerted (but asynchronous) mechanism that can be interpreted in terms of a [n2s + (n2s + n2s)] interaction between both reactants. Both the regio and the stereochemistry observed are compatible with this computational model. However, the combination of solvent and substituent effects can result in a stepwise mechanism. 

Scheme 3 Zwitterionic intermediates associated with the interaction between ketenes and nitrogen containing heterocycles...

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