5-Oxazolones addition, 1,3-dipolar

As part of a mechanistic and synthetic study of nucleophihc carbenes the spirocyclic 4(5/l)-oxazolone 18 has been obtained from benzoyl isocyanate (Scheme 6.1) Thermal extrusion of nitrogen from the 1,3,4-oxadiazoline 14 produced the carbonyl ylide 15 that fragmented via loss of acetone to the aminooxycarbene 16. Spectroscopic data [gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), infrared (IR), proton and C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance ( H and NMR)] of the crude thermolysate was consistent with 18. The formation of 18 was rationalized to result from nucleophihc addition of 16 to benzoyl isocyanate followed by cyclization of the dipolar intermediate 17. Thermolysis of 19 and 21 under similar reaction conditions afforded 20 and 22 respectively, also identified spectroscopically as the major products in the thermolysate. 

Finally, reaction of 2,4-diphenyl-5(4//)-oxazolone 322 with 4-phenyl-A -tosyl-1-azabuta-1,3-diene was found to be highly dependent on the experimental conditions. At room temperature the sole product was 323 that arises from alkylation of 322 by addition at the imine carbon. However, heating 322 and 4-phenyl-A-tosyl-1-azabuta-1,3-diene gave rise to several products including a 2-pyridone 324, 2,3,6-triphenylpyridine 325, and the pentasubstituted pyrroles 326 and 327. The authors postulated two different reaction mechanisms. Here, both a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of the oxazolone and a nucleophilic addition of the oxazolone are possible and that may account for the formation of 324—327. The marked differences in reactivity of 4-phenyl-A-tosyl-l-azabuta-l,3-diene relative to A-alkyl- or A-aryl-1-aza-1,3-dienes was attributed to the powerful electron-withdrawing nature of the tosyl group (Scheme 7.107). ... 

Diphenyldiazomethane has also been used in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with 4-arylmethylene-5(47/)-oxazolones 670 to prepare gem-diphenyl-spirocyclopropane oxazolones 671." A number of 671 analogues were evaluated as antibacterial agents. " In addition, 671 derivatives were precursors for new 1-aminocyclopropanecarboxylic acid derivatives 672, for example, l-(benzoylamino)triphenylcy-clopropanecarboxylic acid 672 (R = Ar = Ph) (Scheme 7.211). 

Dipolar cycloaddition of 4-arylmethyleneisoxazol-5-ones 794 and 2-methyl-4-phenyl-5(4//)-oxazolone 795 leads to pyrrole-3-carboxyhc acids that have been isolated as hydroxamates 796. The authors carried out this cycloaddition-nitrile oxide addition as a one-pot reaction (Scheme 7.243). ... 

Although in most cyclization reactions the 5(4//)-oxazolones react as 1,3-dipolar reactants (azo-methine ylides) through the mesoionic tautomers, they serve as dipolarophiles with nitrile imines <92H(34)315>. The nitrile imines, generated by the thermal decomposition of tetrazoles (82), add across the 2,3 double bond to generate triazoles (83) after further reaction (Scheme 26). Since the 5(4//)-oxazolones with a hydrogen at position 4 are in equilibrium with the 5(2//)-oxazolones under the reaction conditions, the addition of the nitrile imine also occurs across the 3,4-double bond of these compounds to afford an isomeric triazole (84). Pyrazines (85), which are products of the thermal decomposition of 5(4 0 Oxazolones <76HCA2149>, as well as diarylethylenes (86), are also formed. 

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