Photochemical Wolff

Several ring contraction routes to /3-lactams have been developed. One of the most important is the photochemical Wolff rearrangement of 3-diazopyrrolidine-2,4-diones (178), which provides a general route to 3-carboxyazetidin-2-ones (179). Lack of stereoselectivity is a problem, but facile epimerization is possible because of the electron withdrawing 3-substituent (78T1731). 

Photochemical Wolff rearrangement of 2-diazo-3-ketones, though not widely used as a source of A-norsteroids, is discussed in section V in connection with the mechanism of the important photochemical synthesis of D-norsteroids. Photochemical rearrangement of epoxy ketones is a source of A-nosteroids these rearrangements are discussed in chapter 13. Other photochemical routes to A-norsteroids are known." " ... 

The intermediacy of a ketocarbene species 4 is generally accepted for the thermal or photochemical Wolff rearrangement oxirenes 8 that are in equilibrium with ketocarbenes, have been identified as intermediates ... 

When the Wolff rearrangement is carried out photochemically, the mechanism is basically the same, but another pathway can intervene. Some of the ketocarbene orieinallv formed can undergo a carbene-carbene rearrangement, through an oxi-... 

There are several reactions that are conceptually related to carbene reactions but do not involve carbene, or even carbenoid, intermediates. Usually, these are reactions in which the generation of a carbene is circumvented by a concerted rearrangement process. Important examples of this type are the thermal and photochemical reactions of a-diazo ketones. When a-diazo ketones are decomposed thermally or photochemically, they usually rearrange to ketenes, in a reaction known as the Wolff rearrangement.232... 

No S-ylide derived product at all was obtained from the Rh2(0Ac)4-catalyzed decomposition of diazomalonic ester amide 362 rather, a compound was isolated to which the structure of the Wolff rearrangement product 363 was tentatively assigned344. The desired C/S insertion product 364 was accessible, however, by photochemical decomposition of 362. 

In the list of diazoketones studied by us95 mostly derivatives were included which have in solution no or only a small tendency for a Wolff rearrangement. Nevertheless we found not a single diazoketone 71 which enabled us to identify a ketocarbene 72, only the corresponding ketenes 73 could be detected. The same observation was made when we studied in collaboration with Yannoni et al." the photochemically induced deazotation of l-diazo-2-propanone in an organic matrix at 77 K, using 13C CPMAS NMR spectroscopy as the analytical tool. 

FORMATION AND PHOTOCHEMICAL WOLFF REARRANGEMENT OF CYCLIC a-DIAZO KETONES D-NORANDROST-5-EN-3 -0L-16-CARB0XYLIC ACIDS, 52, 53 FORMIC ACID, AZIDO—, tert-BUTYL ESTER, 50, 9 Formylation, with acetic formic anhydride, 50, 2 p-FORMYLBENZENESULFONAMIDE, ... 

Zeller, K.-P. Blocher, A. Haiss, P. Oxirene participation in the Photochemical Wolff Rearrangement Mlnl-Revlewx in Organic Chemistry 2004,1, 291-308. (Review). 

The photochemical Wolff rearrangement represents a generally useful ring contraction technique. 

FORMATION AND PHOTOCHEMICAL WOLFF REARRANGEMENT OF CYCLIC a-DIAZO KETONES D-NORANDROST-5-EN-3P-OL-16-CARBOXYLIC ACIDS... 

Danheiser et al. developed a new aromatic annotation methodology for the total s)mthesis of hyellazole (245) by irradiation of the heteroaryl a-diazo ketone 675 in the presence of 1-methoxypropyne (590). This reaction proceeds via the photochemical Wolff rearrangement of the heteroaryl a-diazo ketone 675 to generate a vinylketene, followed by a cascade of three pericyclic reactions. 

The Dauben-Walker approach has yielded the smallest and most strained fenestrane known to date Following the intramolecular Wadsworth-Enunons cyclization of 443 which also epimerizes the butenyl sidechain to the more stable exo configuration, intramolecular photocycloaddition was smoothly accomplished to provide 444. Wolff-ELishner reduction of this ketone afforded the Cj-symmetric hydrocarbon 445. Application of the photochemical Wolff rearrangement to a-diazo ketone 446 p,ve 447. 

Also, the Wolff rearrangement of diazo Meldmm s acid 33, studied by DFT at the B3PW91/6-311+G(3df,2p) level of theory, proved to be a concerted process because the product of the photochemical or thermal decomposition in methanolic solution was the ketoester 34 (Scheme 3) while the expected products of the singlet carbene 35, for example 36, were not detected <2003JA14153, 2005CJC1382>. 

It has been demonstrated that x-diazo ketones, e.g. 8, may photochemically equilibrate with their isomeric a-oxodiazirines, e.g. 9, but the Latter upon irradiation also undergo Wolff rearrangement with ring contraction.46... 

A large number of diazetidinones have been synthesized by an intramolecular cyclization of haloacetylhydrazones with suitable bases (Scheme 4). A photochemical Wolff rearrangement of... 

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