Tetrazole ring opening

Action of HSO3CI on 2-substituted thiazoles affords the 5-chlorosulfonyl derivatives (337, 338). Addition of 6-phenylthiazolo[2,3-e]tetra2ole to oleum opens the tetrazole ring to form 2-azido-4-phenyI-thiazolyl-5-sulfonic acid, isolated as its salt (339). 5-Chloro-sulphonyl derivative is obtained similarly by action of HSO,Cl. 

Imidazoles and benzimidazoles (155) react with acid chloride and alkali to give compounds of type (157), but these are reactions of the cation (156). 1,2,4-Triazoles and tetrazoles similarly undergo ring opening. 

Other amino substituted isoxazoles undergo ring-opening reactions on treatment with base. Thus the amidine derivative (249) gave the triazole (250) (64TL149), while the triazene (251) on reaction with ammonia gave the tetrazole (252) (64X461). 

The mesoionic tetrazole dehydrodithizone is transformed by iron penta-carbonyl into 4-phenyl-2-phenylazo-A2-l,3,4-thiadiazolin-5-one, presumably by a mechanism of ring opening, complexation, carbonyl insertion and subsequent ring closure (Scheme 128).193 Unfortunately, analogous processes do not occur on other mesoionic compounds in the 1,2,3-oxadiazole, s-triazole or tetrazole series, and the scope of this unusual carbonylation is probably limited. 

Extension of these studies to benzologues of tetrazolo[l,5- ]pyridine, that is, for tetrazolo[l,5- ]quinoline 21 and tetrazolo[5,l- ]isoquinoline 22, led to interesting results <2003JOC1470> as shown in Scheme 7. Both of these fused tetrazoles resulted in formation of a nitrene 23 and 24, respectively, which could be interconverted via formation of the fused cyclic carbodiimide derivative 25. Isoquinolylnitrene 24, furthermore, was found to undergo subsequent reactions ring opening afforded the vinylnitrene 26, which was transformed to o-cyanophe-nylacetonitrile 27 by a 1,2-H shift and to 4-cyanoindole 28 by an intramolecular cyclization in 40% and 25% yields, respectively. 

The fact that tetrazolo[l,5- ]pyridine reacts with phosphines - via ring opening to the valence bond isomer azide -to give a phosphorane has been long recognized. Some novel applications of this transformation have been published during the recent period. The fused tetrazoles subjected to this reaction, the resulting phosphoranes, and the literature sources are summarized in Table 4. 

Ring opening of the five-membered tetrazole ring has also been observed in several cases. The most trivial conversion is the equilibrium between the fused tetrazole and azidodiazine which, in principle, could take place with every fused tetrazole compound described in this chapter, and, therefore, no special comment on this type of ring opening needs to be discussed. 

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