Photocycloadditions to heterocycles

Numerous examples of intermolecular and intramolecular photocycloaddition to heterocyclic systems (including the dimerization of individual heterocycles) have now been reported. Two types of cycloaddition can readily be effected photochemically, namely, [n2 + 2] and [ 4 + 4] additions. Although concerted suprafacial additions of this type are allowed photochemical processes, in reality many cycloadditions occur via diradicals, zwitterions or exciplexes. 

The synthesis of nitrogen containing heterocyclic systems by photocylo-addition processes is virtually limited to examples involving [ 2 + 2] cycloaddition of imines, nitriles, and azo compounds. Successful additions are few in number and the requirements for success uncertain. The reactions do not proceed with the facility with which carbonyl containing compounds undergo photocycloaddition to alkenes to give oxetans, and various explanations have been advanced to account for this observed lack of reactivity.226... 

In certain cases benzene will undergo photocycloaddition to oxygen and sulfur heterocycles. The two major photoproducts of irradiation of a mixture of furan and benzene are adducts 356 and 357, arising, respectively, by [ 2 + 2] and [ 4 + 4] cycloaddition processes.306 Irradiation of benzene and 2,2-dimethyl-l,3-dioxol (358) similarly affords adducts 359 and 360, together with dimer 361.307 Thiochromone 1,1-dioxide also undergoes photoaddition to benzene.308... 

In this chapter, we will be concerned with the ortho photocycloaddition of arenes to the benzene ring. This implies that photocycloadditions to larger aromatic systems and to heterocyclic aromatic molecules will not be discussed. The photoadditions of alkynes to benzene and derivatives of benzene, however, are included in this review. The material is organized in sections, according to the pathway that is followed from the ground state of the addends to the ortho photocycloadducts. 

As mentioned previously, photocycloaddition reactions are a useful method for obtaining fullerene derivatives fused directly to heterocycles. Such compounds have attracted much interest because they might have interesting properties, e.g., amino acid fullerene derivatives as biologically active compounds or pyrrolidino-fullerenes as key precursors for a great number of fullerenes donor-acceptor bridged dyads and triads. Fullerenes functionalized with silicon compounds are of great interest in materials science. The synthesis of these compounds will be described in this section. 

Alkenes, perfluoro-cycloadditions to benzyl azide, 60, 35 pyridine imines and ylids, 60, 36 Alkenes, perfluoro-, as heterocyclic precursors, 59, 10 Alkylation, free-radical, of 1,3-dimethyluracil, 55, 227 A-Alkylation, [ 1,2,4]triazolo[ 1,5-u)-pyrimidines, 57, 110 Alkynes, photocycloaddition to uracils, rearrangement with HCNO elimination, 55, 149 Alkynes, ethoxy-, cyclaoddition to hexafluoroacetone azine, 60, 32 Alkynes, perfluoro-, as heterocyclic precursors, 59, 10 Allenes... 

A number of examples of photocycloaddition to sulphur-containing heterocycles have been reported. 2,3-Dichlorobenzo(b]thiophene (226) undergoes [ 2 + 2] benzophenone-sensitized photoaddition to vinyl bromide to give the stereoisomeric adducts (227). A potentially more useful cycloaddition has been described for 4-methoxy-l-thiocoumarin (228) which with isobutene, for example, affords the adduct (229). The structures assigned to adducts of... 

The C-4 substituted tetronates 159 also undergo intramolecular photocycloaddition to give the tricyclic adducts 160 with the heterocyclic ring directly anellated to the cyclobutane moiety. In consistency with the rule of fives, these photocycloadditions proceed exclusively to furnish the straight adducts. 

An extensive review of 2 + 2-photocycloadditions of dienones and quinones has been published. The photocycloaddition of heterocyclic 2,3-diones (18) with electron-rich alkenes in the presence of the photosensitizer benzophenone yields 2-1-2-cycloadducts (19) and (20) with high regio- and stereo-selectivity (Scheme 1) Time-resolved spectroscopy has shown that in the photochemical cycloaddition between stilbenes and quinones, the (singlet) ion-radical pair [S ", Q+ ] is the primary reaction intermediate and therefore establishes the electron-transfer pathway for this typical Paterno-Biichi transformation. A kinetic study of the Paterno-Biichi cycloaddition of stilbene to chloranil shows that solvent polarity and donicity control the formation as well as the reaction path of the ion-radical. The photoirradiation of chloranil with... 

The use of stereoselective 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions to heterocyclic compounds in the synthesis of natural products has been reviewed.1,2-, 1,3- and 2,3-dicyanonaphthalenes, e.g. (25), undergo 3 -I- 2-photocycloadditions with alkenes and 1,3-dienes in the presence of Cu(OAc)2 to produce tricyclic adducts, e.g. (26) (Scheme 10). ... 

The dimesitylbotyl borepin (169) underwent [2 + 2] photocycloaddition to give (169). A cast firm of (169) from a toluene solution showed photochromic behaviour with a colour change from colourless to deep blue. On the other hand, the bis-boron bridged stilbene (170) upon 254 nm irradiation afforded the novel boron-containing heterocyclic compound (171). ... 

Four-membered heterocycles are easily formed via [2-I-2] cycloaddition reac tions [65] These cycloaddmon reactions normally represent multistep processes with dipolar or biradical intermediates The fact that heterocumulenes, like isocyanates, react with electron-deficient C=X systems is well-known [116] Via this route, (1 lactones are formed on addition of ketene derivatives to hexafluoroacetone [117, 118] The presence of a trifluoromethyl group adjacent to the C=N bond in quinoxalines, 1,4-benzoxazin-2-ones, l,2,4-triazm-5-ones, and l,2,4-tnazin-3,5-diones accelerates [2-I-2] photocycloaddition processes with ketenes and allenes [106] to yield the corresponding azetidine derivatives Starting from olefins, fluonnaied oxetanes are formed thermally and photochemically [119, 120] The reaction of 5//-l,2-azaphospholes with fluonnated ketones leads to [2-i-2j cycloadducts [121] (equation 27)... 

Cycloadditions are in general an effective way of constructing cyclobutane rings. A wide variety of heterocyclic systems dimerize in this way. 1,3-Diacetylindole, for example, affords the head-to-tail dimer 242 on irradiation in ethanol.185 Ethyl 2-ethoxy-l,2-dihydroquinoline-l-carboxy-late is similarly converted in diethyl ether into the trans head-to-head dimer.186 Notable among many analogous photodimerizations are those reported in 1,4-dihydropyridines,187 in furo[3,2-b]pyridin-2(4//)-ones,188 in 8-methyl-s-triazolo[4,3-a]pyridine,189 and in 2H-2-benzazepine-1,3-diones.190 The [ 2 + 2] dimerization of amidopyrine is the first reported example of a photocycloaddition in a 4-pyrazolin-3-one.191... 

Reports of [ 2 + 2] cycloaddition of nitrogen containing heterocycles to alkenes are so numerous that attention can be drawn here to only a few. Recent examples include the acetone-sensitized photoaddition of 4-oxazolin-2-one (248) to ethylene to give the cis-adduct 249,203 the photocycloadditions of N-substituted imidazoles to acrylonitrile204 and of N-methyl-4-hydroxy-quinol-2-one to cyclohexene,205 and the photoaddition of pentafluoro-pyridine to ethylene to give the 1 1- and 1 2-adducts 250 and 251,... 

The use of metal complexed heterocyclic polyenes in these cycloadditions has also proven useful, as both the 1,1-dioxythiepine and azepine derivatives 250 and 253 took part in [6 + 4]- and [6+ 2]-photocycloadditions, respectively, to afford good yields of the... 

The skeleton of 47 is a heterocyclic tricyclo[6.2.0.0 ]decane and the similarity to the tricyclic kelsoene is obvious. In the course of the above-mentioned studies we had become curious whether the high facial diastereocontrol in the photocycloaddition reaction could be extended to other bridged 1,6-hexadienes. Kelsoene was an ideal test case. The retrosynthetic strategy for kelsoene along an intramolecular [2+2]-photocycloaddition pathway appeared straightforward. To avoid chemoselectivity problems the precursor to kelsoene should not contain additional double bonds. Alcohol 48, the hydroxy group of which was possibly to be protected, seemed to be a suitable substrate for the photocycloaddition (Scheme 14). Access to the 1,2,3-substi-... 

Both target compounds discussed in this review, kelsoene (1) and preussin (2), provide a fascinating playground for synthetic organic chemists. The construction of the cyclobutane in kelsoene limits the number of methods and invites the application of photochemical reactions as key steps. Indeed, three out of five completed syntheses are based on an intermolecular enone [2+2]-photocycloaddition and one—our own—is based on an intramolecular Cu-catalyzed [2+2]-photocycloaddition. A unique approach is based on a homo-Favorskii rearrangement as the key step. Contrary to that, the pyrrolidine core of preussin offers a plentitude of synthetic alternatives which is reflected by the large number of syntheses completed to date. The photochemical pathway to preussin has remained unique as it is the only route which does not retrosynthetically disconnect the five-membered heterocycle. The photochemical key step is employed for a stereo- and regioselective carbo-hydroxylation of a dihydropyrrole precursor. 

Addition to six-membered oxygen heterocycles is also common. The photocycloaddition of 5,7-dimethoxycoumarin to tetramethylethylene has been described,269 and 4-hydroxycoumarin (326) undergoes facile addition to cyclohexene on direct irradiation to give the cyclobutane (327)270 analogous additions to a variety of other alkenes have been reported, and the cycloaddition of 4-methoxycoumarin to 2-methylpropene has been employed in a synthesis of l,2-dihydrocyclobuta[c]coumarin.271 Photoaddition of the 1,2-bisenol lactone (328) to tran.s-stilbene yields propellane (329),272 and [ 2 + 2] cycloaddition is observed along with other competing photoreactions on irradiation of chromone in the presence of alkenes.273... 

Photocycloaddition of oxygen heterocycles to alkynes has been of some use in the preparation of cyclobutene derivatives.279 Irradiation of tetrakis(trifluoromethyl)furan (336) and dimethylacetylene, for example, affords the adduct (337), which on further irradiation, is converted to the... 

Among the reactions applied in the synthesis of fullerene derivatives cycloaddition reactions such as [2 + 1]-, [2 + 2]-, [3 + 2] and [4 + 2] cycloadditions play a dominant role. In these reactions ring-fused fullerene derivatives are obtained, at least with incorporation of heteroatoms such as oxygen, nitrogen, or silicon. In this section photochemical reactions leading to cycloalkyl ring-fused fullerene adducts will be presented. Photocycloaddition reactions leading to C6o-fused heterocycles will be discussed later. 

The photochemical addition of 2H-azirines to the carbonyl group of aldehydes, ketones and esters is completely regiospecific (77H143). Besides the formation of the isomeric oxazolines 18 from 3 and ethyl cyanoformate, there is also formed the imidazole 19 from addition to the C = N in the expected regioselective manner. Thioesters lead to thiazolines 20, while isocyanates and ketenes produce heterocycles 21 (Scheme 4). The photocycloaddition of arylazirines with a variety of multiple bonds proceeds in high yield and provides a convenient route for the synthesis of five-membered heterocyclic rings. Some of the dipolarophiles include azodicarboxylates, acid chlorides, vinylphospho-nium salts and p-quinones. 

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