2//-Tetrazole, aromaticity

The aromatic character is critically dependent upon the position of the heteroatoms in the ring, and oxygenated compounds have marked diene character. Various ERE determinations of 1,2,4-triazole have given values ranging between 83.7 and 205.8 kJ moP (Table 35). LCAO-SCF calculations, however, suggest that the ring is substantially less stable than the diazoles but more stable than tetrazole. 

Discussion of these compounds is divided into isomers of aromatic compounds, and dihydro and tetrahydro derivatives. The isomers of aromatic azoles are a relatively little-studied class of compounds. Dihydro and tetrahydro derivatives with two heteroatoms are quite well-studied, but such compounds become more obscure and elusive as the number of heteroatoms increases. Thus dihydrotriazoles are rare dihydrotetrazoles and tetrahydro-triazoles and -tetrazoles are unknown unless they contain doubly bonded exocyclic substituents. 

The classical age of preparative organic chemistry saw the exploration of the extensive field of five-membered heterocyclic aromatic systems. The stability of these systems, in contrast to saturated systems, is not necessarily affected by the accumulation of neighboring heteroatoms. In the series pyrrole, pyrazole, triazole, and tetrazole an increasing stability is observed in the presence of electrophiles and oxidants, and a natural next step was to attempt the synthesis of pentazole (1). However, pentazole has eluded the manifold and continual efforts to synthesize and isolate it. 

Azido-tetrazole isomerism was briefly mentioned in the previous survey on tautomerism (76AHCSl,p. 547) and systematically dealt with in the reviews on tetrazoles by Butler [77AHC(21)324] and on aromatic azapenta-lenes by Elguero et al. [78AHC(22)183]. We now discuss the data which was not previously surveyed. 

The diazotization of heteroaromatic amines is basically analogous to that of aromatic amines. Among the five-membered systems the amino-azoles (pyrroles, diazoles, triazoles, tetrazoles, oxazoles, isooxazoles, thia-, selena-, and dithiazoles) have all been diazotized. In general, diazotization in dilute mineral acid is possible, but diazotization in concentrated sulfuric acid (nitrosylsulfuric acid, see Sec. 2.2) or in organic solvents using an ester of nitrous acid (ethyl or isopentyl nitrite) is often preferable. Amino derivatives of aromatic heterocycles without ring nitrogen (furan and thiophene) can also be diazotized. 

Tetrazoles are a very interesting family of aromatic five-membered heterocycles for their abiUty to be a mimetic of the carboxy group with metabolic... 

Another important click reaction is the cycloaddition of azides. The addition of sodium azide to nitriles to give l//-tetrazoles is shown to proceed readily in water with zinc salts as catalysts (Eq. 11.71).122 The scope of the reaction is quite broad a variety of aromatic nitriles, activated and nonactivated alkyl nitriles, substituted vinyl nitriles, thiocyanates, and cyanamides have all been shown to be viable substrates for this reaction. The reaction of an arylacetylene with an azide in hot water gave 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles in high yields,123 while a similar reaction between a terminal aliphatic alkyne and an azide (except 111 - nitroazidobenzcnc) afforded a mixture of regioisomers with... 

Pyridine A-oxides were converted to tetrazolo[l,5-a]pyridines 172 by heating in the presence sulfonyl or phosphoryl azides and pyridine in the absence of solvent <06JOC9540>. 3-R-5-Trinitromethyltetrazolo[l,5-a]-l,3,5-triazin-7-ones 173 have been prepared from the alkylation of 5-trinitromethyltetrazolo[l,5-a]-l,3,5-triazin-7-one silver salt with different alkylation agents <06CHE417>. The use of 2-fluorophenylisocyanide in the combinatorial Ugi-tetrazole reaction followed by a nucleophilic aromatic substitution afforded tricylic tetrazolo[l,5-a]quinoxaline 174 in good yields and with high diversity <06TL2041>. 

The photochemical reaction of azide-functionalized tetrazole derivatives such as 38 leads to the formation of the 5-5 bicyclic ring system 40 (Scheme 5) in very moderate yields <1999JHC863>. This reaction is believed to proceed via the singlet nitrene intermediate 39. Attack at the aromatic substituent in ortho position leads to product 40 <1974JOG2546> by subsequent cyclization. This intermediate is deprotonated during the workup conditions to the mesoionic tricyclic derivative 41. 

One has to realize that the cycloaddition products, namely the tetrazoles, are in equilibrium with the open chain azido form. The aromatic moiety of the phenol and aniline derivatives not only favors the formation of the cyclic... 

Generalized valence bond interaction energies were computed for mono/poly-nitrogenous five- and six-membered heterocycles.203 Results that diverged from those obtained by other methods were obtained only for poly-nitrogenous systems such as pyridazine, benzotriazole, and tetrazole, which may confirm Bird s earlier finding123 204 that electron delocalization is not a stand-alone and direct measure of aromaticity for nitrogenous heterocyclic compounds. 

Excerpt 4F is taken from an article written by Demko and Sharpless. (Barry Sharpless was a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2001 for his work on chirally catalyzed oxidation reactions.) In this article, the authors propose a way to synthesize aromatic tetrazoles from nitriles in water, using only sodium azide and a zinc salt. Water, despite its obvious advantages (i.e., safe and inexpensive), rarely succeeds as a solvent in organic synthesis. Thus, a synthesis that uses water successfully is an important scientific accomplishment. 

The addition of sodium azide to nitriles to give IH-tetrazoles is shown to proceed readily in water with zinc salts as catalysts. The scope of the reaction is quite broad a variety of aromatic nitriles, activated and unactivated alkyl nitriles, substituted vinyl nitriles, thiocyanates, and cyanamides have all been shown to be viable substrates for this reaction. 

A variety of heterocyclic systems containing unsaturated nitrogen can partake in directed aromatic or heteroaromatic lithiations. Pyrazole (II,D), tetrazole (II,G,2), imidazoline (V,B,2), and pyridine (IV,A,4) derivatives were discussed in the sections indicated. In addition, lithio derivatives of 2-oxazoline 178 (76LA183), 4,4-dimethyl-2-oxazoline 179 (790R1 85T837),... 

Fully conjugated aromatic tetrazole rings have structures (1) or (2) and are numbered as shown. These are discussed in Section 4.17.5. Dihydrotetrazoles are dealt with as nonconjugated systems in Section 4.17.6. The most common forms of these are the structures (3) and (4). The A -tetrazolines (3) may give diaziridines when heated or if aromatic substituents are present at C-5 cycloreversion to azides and imines may occur <87BSF525, 88CB1213>. The 1,4-dihydrotetrazoline structure (4) is common for Y = S, O, NR and CR2. 

The main types of nonconjugated tetrazoline compounds are the 1,5- and 1,4-dihydroderivatives with the general structures (3) and (4). The structure (4) also includes systems which are tautomeric with the conjugated aromatic tetrazole ring. The only known tetrahydro-tetrazolines are the compounds (5) (Section 4.17.1.1). 

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