Photolysis of diazomethane produces a carbene

Photolysis of diazomethane produces a carbene 1005 Asymmetric synthesis 1102... 

The term methylene is exclusively reserved for CH2. Spectroscopic investigations demonstrated that photolysis of diazo compounds in fact produces free carbenes. A flash photolysis of diazomethane gave methylene whose spectrum could be recorded 3i>. ESR-spectra were taken of a series of triplet carbenes which had been obtained by direct irradiation of diazo compounds in various matrices at low temperatures (see p. 97). 

Confirmation was provided by the observation that the species produced by the photolysis of two different carbene sources (88 and 89) in acetonitrile and by photolysis of the azirine 92 all had the same strong absorption band at 390 nm and all reacted with acrylonitrile at the same rate (fc=4.6 x 10 Af s" ). Rate constants were also measured for its reaction with a range of substituted alkenes, methanol and ferf-butanol. Laser flash photolysis work on the photolysis of 9-diazothioxan-threne in acetonitrile also produced a new band attributed the nitrile ylide 87 (47). The first alkyl-substituted example, acetonitrilio methylide (95), was produced in a similar way by the photolysis of diazomethane or diazirine in acetonitrile (20,21). This species showed a strong absorption at 280 nm and was trapped with a variety of electron-deficient olefinic and acetylenic dipolarophiles to give the expected cycloadducts (e.g., 96 and 97) in high yields. When diazomethane was used as the precursor, the reaction was carried out at —40 °C to minimize the rate of its cycloaddition to the dipolarophile. In the reactions with unsymmetrical dipolarophiles such as acrylonitrile, methyl acrylate, or methyl propiolate, the ratio of regioisomers was found to be 1 1. 

Insertion into C-H bonds is more probable than insertion into C-C bonds. Insertion into C-C bonds does not appear to occur at all. For example, photolysis of diazomethane in cyclopentane at —75 °C produced only methylcyclopentane, with cyclohexane not being observed. Singlet carbenes are thought to add to C- H bonds by a concerted process, while triplet carbenes can produce net addition through hydrogen abstraction and then recombination of the alkyl radicals. It was found that o-(2-endo-norbornyl)phenylcarbene inserts into the 3-position in such a way as to give a trans-junction (Scheme 5.47). 

In arylcarbenes not only the internal bond angle but also the dihedral angle between the bond plane and the aryl plane can be bent. Photolysis of a- and /S-naphthyl-diazomethanes in a matrix gave two isomeric carbenes, which produced different ESR signals >. 

Photolysis of matrix-isolated (trimethoxysilyl)diazomethane at X > 305 nm produced carbene 3e (equation 1), which was characterized by IR and UV-Vis spectroscopy23. Under these conditions, no other species besides the carbene could be detected spectroscopically. In an 02-doped (1%) argon matrix, the carbene rapidly reacted with oxygen to give carbonyl oxide 4 which was further photoisomerized to formylsilane 5. Again, the fast reaction of 3e with 302 points to a triplet ground state of the carbene. 

The triplet benzophenone-sensitization of diphenyldiazomethane at 77 °K induces a marked colour change and esr spectra of the intermediates have been reported in addition to the usual N2 -1-carbene decomposition, another, reversible path was proposed, involving a photochromic form of diphenyldiazomethane. The esr spectrum of triplet diphenylcarbene produced by the photolysis of diphenyl diazomethane in the solid state has been observed using 5250 A - and 2537 A radiation. 

Photolysis of (o-methoxymethylphenyl)diazomethane 261 furnishes a carbene that is cyclized to an oxonium ylide. The latter takes up a proton and splits off a methyl cation to produce dihydrobenzofuran 262 (89JA1465). 

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