Palladium acetate diazo compound decomposition catalyst

Diazo compound 2 is obtained by thermal ring opening of the bicyclic pyrazoline 1." Catalytic decomposition of 2 with copper(I) iodide in refluxing benzene yields the bicyclo[1.1.0]butane 3. The same result is achieved with bis(acetonitrile)palladium(II) chloride as catalyst, whereas rhodium(II) acetate dimer and copper(I) cyanide are unreactive. 

Apart from routine applications to cyclopropane synthesis,the application of new catalysts to the decomposition of diazo-compounds has received considerable attention. The use of palladium acetate, originally reported in 1972 by Paulissen et o/., has been extended and applied to diazomethane and ethyl diazoacetate in the presence of aP-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. With a- and a-substituted aP-unsaturated ketones, stereospecific cis-addition occurs in excellent yields, but the catalyst proves to be ineffective with analogous trisubstituted olefins, as illustrated for the formation of (110) with diazomethane. The use of palladium chloride with the... 

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