Carboxyketenes from 4-hydroxy-1,3-oxazin-6-ones and Meldrum's acid derivatives

New 4-hydroxy-1,3-oxazin-6-ones 8 and 16 were prepared from chlorocarbonyl(phenyl)ketene and amides. The flash vacuum thermolysis (FVT) reactions of these compounds and the 4-methoxy derivative 17 were investigated by Ar matrix isolation IR spectroscopy and online mass spectrometry including MS/MS analysis. Carboxy(phenyl)ketene 10 is formed as the major product by thermal fragmentation of 4-hydroxy-1,3-oxazin-6-one 8. This takes place via the unstable 6-hydroxy tautomer 9. Another tautomer, the 5H-isomer 12, leads to the formation of benzoyl isocyanate 13 as a minor product together with phenylketene 14. Carboxy(phenyl)ketene 10 remains detectable at high FVT temperatures but undergoes thermal decarboxylation to phenylketene 14. The same carboxy(phenyl)ketene 10 is also produced in significant amounts by FVT of 5-phenyl-Meldrum's acid 18 via the unstable enol tautomer 19. A small amount of the unsubstituted carboxyketene 20 is observable on FVT of Meldrum's acid 1 itself.     

Rearrangement of 2-quinolyl- and 1-isoquinolylcarbenes to naphthylnitrenes

2-quinolylcarbene 23 and 1-isoquinolylcarbene 33 are generated by flash vacuum thermolysis (FVT) of the corresponding triazolo[1,5-a]quinoline and triazolo[5,1-a]isoquinoline 19 and 29, as well as 2-(5-tetrazolyl)quinoline and 1-(5-tetrazolyl)isoquinoline 20 and 30, respectively. These carbenes rearrange to 1- and 2-naphthylnitrene 21 and 31, respectively, and the nitrenes are also generated by FVT of 1- and 2-naphthyl azides 18 and 28. The products of FVT of both the nitrene and carbene precursors are the 2- and 3-cyanoindenes 26 and 27 together with the nitrene dimers, viz. azonaphthalenes 25 and 35, and the H-abstraction products, aminonaphthalenes 24 and 34. All the azide, triazole, and tetrazole precursors yield 3-cyanoindene 26 as the principal ring contraction product under conditions of low FVT temperature (340-400 degrees C) and high pressure (1 Torr N(2) as carrier gas for the purpose of collisional deactivation). This ring contraction reaction is strongly subject to chemical activation, which caused extensive isomerization of 3-cyanoindene to 2-cyanoindene under conditions of low pressure (10(-3) Torr). 2-Cyanoindene is calculated to be ca. 1.7 kcal/mol below 3-cyanoindene in energy; accordingly, high-temperature FVT of these cyanoindenes always gives mixtures of the two compounds with the 2-cyano isomer dominating. Photolysis of trizolo[1,5-a]quinoline 19 and triazolo[5,1-a]isoquinoline 29 in Ar matrixes causes partial ring opening to the corresponding 2-diazomethylquinoline 19' and 1-diazomethylisoquinoline 29'. The photolysis of the former gives rise to a small amount of the cyclic ketenimine 22, the intermediate connecting 2-quinolylcarbene and 1-naphthylnitrene.     

Donor stabilized borylnitrene: a highly reactive BN analogue of vinylidene

A donor atom stabilized borylnitrene, 2-nitreno-1,3,2-benzodioxaborole 4c, is characterized by matrix isolation IR, UV, and ESR spectroscopy as well as multiconfiguration SCF and CI computations. UV irradiation (lambda = 254 nm) of the corresponding azide 6c, isolated in solid argon at 10 K, produces 4c in high yield. The oxygen donor atoms in 4c result in a triplet ground state (|D/hc| = 1.492 cm(-)(1), |E/hc| = 0.004 cm(-)(1)) for the borylnitrene. The lowest energy singlet state ((1)A(1)) is 33 kcal mol(-)(1) higher in energy and closely related to the ground state of vinylidene. Under the conditions of matrix isolation, triplet 4c is photochemically and thermally stable toward rearrangement to the corresponding cyclic iminoborane. Photochemical irradiation (lambda > 550 nm) of 4c rather causes an efficient reaction with molecular nitrogen, lying in matrix sites nearby, to give 6c. Similarly, photochemical, but not thermal, trapping of 4c with CO is possible and results in the corresponding isocycanate 9c. Thermal reaction of 4c with O(2) in doped argon matrixes at 35 K could be observed by IR spectroscopy to result in borylnitroso-O-oxide 17c as shown by (18)O(2) labeling experiments and DFT computations. The diradical 17c is very photolabile and quickly rearranges to the nitritoborane 16c upon irradiation.     

Tricyanomethane and Its Ketenimine Tautomer: Generation from Different Precursors and Analysis in Solution,Argon Matrix,and as a Single Crystal

Solutions of azidomethylidenemalononitrile were photolyzed at low temperatures to produce the corresponding 2H‐azirine and tricyanomethane, which were analyzed by low‐temperature NMR spectroscopy. The latter product was also observed after short thermolysis of the azide precursor in solution whereas irradiation of the azide isolated in an argon matrix did not lead to tricyanomethane, but to unequivocal detection of the tautomeric ketenimine by IR spectroscopy for the first time. When the long‐known “aquoethereal” greenish phase generated from potassium tricyanomethanide, dilute sulfuric acid, and diethyl ether was rapidly evaporated and sublimed, a mixture of hydronium tricyanomethanide and tricyanomethane was formed instead of the previously claimed ketenimine tautomer. Under special conditions of sublimation, single crystals of tricyanomethane could be isolated, which enabled the analysis of the molecular structure by X‐ray diffraction.     

2-quinoxalinylnitrenes and 4-quinazolinylnitrenes: rearrangement to cyclic and acyclic carbodiimides and ring-opening to nitrile ylides

This work was undertaken with the aim to obtain direct evidence for the interrelationships between hetarylnitrenes, their ring-expanded cyclic carbodiimide isomers, and ring-opened nitrile ylides. Tetrazolo[1,5-a]quinoxaline 11T and tetrazolo[5.1-c]quinazoline 13T undergo valence tautomerization to the corresponding azides 11A and 13A on mild flash vacuum thermolysis (FVT). Photolysis in Ar matrixes at ca. 15 K affords the triplet nitrenes 12 and 14, identified by ESR, UV, and IR spectroscopy. The nitrenes are converted photochemically to the seven-membered ring carbodiimide 15 followed by the open-chain carbodiimide 22. The 3-methoxy- and 3-chloro-2-quinoxalinylnitrenes 24 yield the ring-expanded carbodiimides 26 very cleanly on matrix photolysis, whereas FVT affords N-cyanobenzimidazoles 28. The ring-opened nitrile ylides 36 and 49 are identified as intermediates in the photolyses of 2-phenyl-4-quinazolinylnitrene 32 and 7-nitro-2-phenyl-4- quinazolinylnitrene 47. In these systems, a photochemically reversible interconversion of the seven-membered ring carbodiimides 35 and 48 and the nitrile ylides 36 and 49 is established. Recyclization of open-chain nitrile ylides is identified as an important mechanism of formation of ring contraction products (N-cyanobenzimidazoles).     

Nitrenes, diradicals, and ylides. Ring expansion and ring opening in 2-quinazolylnitrenes

Tetrazolo[1,5-a]quinazoline (9) is converted to 2-azidoquinazoline (10) on sublimation at 200 degrees C and above, and the azide-tetrazole equilibrium is governed by entropy. 2-Quinazolylnitrenes 11 and 27 and/or their ring expansion products 14 and 29 can undergo type I (ylidic) and type II (diradicaloid) ring opening. Argon matrix photolysis of 9/10 affords 2-quinazolylnitrene (11), which has been characterized by ESR, UV, and IR spectroscopy. A minor amount of a second nitrene, formed by rearrangement or ring opening, is also observed. A diradical (19) is formed rapidly by type II ring opening and characterized by ESR spectroscopy; it decays thermally at 15 K with a half-life of ca. 47 min, in agreement with its calculated facile intersystem crossing (19T --> 19OSS) followed by facile cyclization/rearrangement to 1-cyanoindazole (21) (calculated activation barrier 1-2 kcal/mol) and N-cyanoanthranilonitrile (22). 21and 22 are the isolated end products of photolysis. 21 is also the end product of flash vacuum thermolysis. An excellent linear correlation between the zero-field splitting parameter D (cm(-1)) and the spin density rho on the nitrene N calculated at the B3LYP/EPRIII level is reported (R2 = 0.993 for over 100 nitrenes). Matrix photolysis of 3-phenyltetrazolo[1,5-a]quinazoline (25) affords the benzotriazacycloheptatetraene 29, which can be photochemically interconverted with the type I ring opening product 2-isocyano-alpha-diazo-alpha-phenyltoluene (33) as determined by IR and UV spectroscopy. The corresponding carbene 37, obtained by photolysis of 33, was detected by matrix ESR spectroscopy.     

Acylthioketene-thioacylketene-thiet-2-one rearrangements

Flash vacuum thermolysis (FVT) of 6-aryl-1,3-dioxine-4-thiones 9 leads to the formation of acylthioketenes 10, which are characterized by Ar matrix IR spectroscopy as well as on-line tandem mass spectrometry. The thioketenes 10 undergo a 1,3-shift of the aryl group to generate thioacylketenes 11. Ketenes 11 cyclize to 3-aryl-thiet-2-ones 12, which are also characterized by matrix IR spectroscopy and tandem mass spectrometry. The thiet-2-ones 12 undergo two kinds of reaction under the FVT conditions: (i) cheletropic CO extrusion with formation of arylthioketenes 13, and (ii) cycloreversion to COS and arylacetylene.     

Access to the naphthylcarbene rearrangement manifold via isomeric benzodiazocycloheptatrienes

Irradiation (lambda = 670 or >613 nm) of 4,5-benzodiazocycloheptatriene (15), matrix isolated in argon at 10 K, produces primarily 2,3-benzobicyclo[4.1.0]hepta-2,4,6-triene (9) accompanied by small amounts of triplet 4,5-benzocycloheptatrienylidene (2) and 2-naphthylcarbene (10). A reversible photoequilibrium is established in which 9 is converted to 10 at lambda = 290 nm and then regenerated at lambda = 360 nm. Similarly, matrix-isolated 2,3-benzodiazocycloheptatriene (16) produces 4,5-benzobicyclo[4.1.0]hepta-2,4,6-triene (11) at lambda = 670 or >613 nm, but without detection of 2,3-benzocycloheptatrienylidene (4). Irradiation of 11 at lambda = 290 nm induces ring opening to triplet 1-naphthylcarbene (12), which, in turn, cyclizes back to 11 at lambda = 342 or >497 nm. The diazo compounds and photoproducts are characterized by IR, UV/visible, and ESR spectroscopy, where appropriate, and by comparison of the experimental and B3LYP/6-31G calculated IR spectra for each species. Alternate rearrangement products such as allenes 6, 7, and 8 are not detected in the photolysis of either diazo compound.     

Carbene and nitrene rearrangements: a theoretical study of cyclic allenes and carbenes,carbodiimides, and azirines

B3LYP/6-31G(d) calculations of structures, energies, and infrared spectra of several rearrangement products of (hetero)aromatic nitrenes and carbenes are reported. 3-Isoquinolylnitrene 36 ring closes to the azirine 37 prior to ring expansion to the potentially stable but unobserved seven-membered-ring carbodiimide 38 and diazacycloheptatrienylidene C(s)()-39S. A new, stable cycloheptatrienylidene, C(s)()-19S, is located on the naphthylcarbene energy surface. 4-Quinolylnitrene undergoes reaction via the azirine 50 in solution, but ring expansion to the stable seven-membered-ring ketenimine 47 under Ar matrix photolysis conditions. There is excellent agreement between calculated infrared spectra of 1,5-diazacyclohepta-1,2,4,6-tetraene 54 (obtained by photolysis of 4-pyridyl azide), 1-azacyclohepta-1,2,4,6-tetraene 5, 1-azacyclohepta-1,3,5,6-tetraene 55, and 1-azacyclohepta-1,3,4,6-tetraene 56 and the available experimental data.     

3,4,5,6‐Tetrafluorophenylnitren‐2‐yl: A Ground‐State Quartet Triradical

The photochemistry of 2‐iodo‐3,4,5,6‐tetrafluorophenyl azide ( 7 d ) has been investigated in argon and neon matrices at 4 K, and the products characterized by IR and EPR spectroscopy. The primary photochemical step is loss of a nitrogen molecule and formation of phenyl nitrene 1 d . Further irradiation with UV or visible light results in mixtures of 1 d with azirine 5 d ′, ketenimine 6 d ′, nitreno radical 2 d , and azirinyl radical 9 . The relative amounts of these products strongly depend on the matrix and on the irradiation conditions. Nitreno radical 2 d with a quartet ground state was characterized by EPR spectroscopy. Electronic structure calculations in combination with the experimental results allow for a detailed understanding of the properties of this unusual new type of organic high‐spin molecules.     

Selective formation of triplet alkyl nitrenes from photolysis of beta-azido-propiophenone and their reactivity

Photolysis of beta-azido propiophenone derivatives, 1, with built-in sensitizer units, leads to selective formation of triplet alkyl nitrenes 2 that were detected directly with laser flash photolysis (lambdamax = 325 nm, tau = 27 ms) and ESR spectroscopy (|D/hc| = 1.64 cm-1, |E/hc| = 0.004 cm-1). Nitrenes 2 were further characterized with argon matrix isolation, isotope labeling, and molecular modeling. The triplet alkyl nitrenes are persistent intermediates that do not abstract H-atoms from the solvent but do decay by dimerizing with another triplet nitrene to form azo products, rather than reacting with an azide precursor. The azo dimer tautomerizes and rearranges to form heterocyclic compound 3. Nitrene 2a, with an n,pi* configuration as the lowest triplet excited state of the its ketone sensitizer moiety, undergoes intramolecular 1,4-H-atom abstraction to form biradical 6, which was identified by argon matrix isolation, isotope labeling, and molecular modeling. beta-Azido-p-methoxy-propiophenone, with a pi,pi* lowest excited state of its triplet sensitizer moiety, does not undergo any secondary photoreactions but selectively yields only triplet alkyl nitrene intermediates that dimerize to form 3b.     

Chlorodifluoroacetyl Azide, ClF(2)CC(O)N(3): Preparation, Properties, and Decomposition

Chlorodifluoroacetyl azide, ClF(2)CC(O)N(3), was prepared and characterized by IR (gas, Ar matrix), Raman (liquid), UV-vis (gas), and (19)F, (13)C NMR spectroscopy. The vibrational spectra were analyzed in terms of a single conformer, gauche-syn, where the Cl-C and the N(α)═N(β) bonds are gauche and syn to the C═O bond, respectively. The photo and thermal decomposition reactions of the azide were studied with the aid of matrix isolation. In both cases, a new isocyanate species ClF(2)CNCO was produced and characterized by matrix IR spectroscopy. The conformational properties and the Curtius rearrangement pathways of this new carbonyl azide were theoretically explored, which suggest the preference of a concerted over stepwise decomposition for the global minimum gauche-syn conformer.     

N-aminopyrroledione-hydrazonoketene-pyrazolium oxide-pyrazolone rearrangements and pyrazolone tautomerism

Flash vacuum thermolysis (FVT) of 1-(dimethylamino)pyrrole-2,3-diones 5 causes extrusion of CO with formation of transient hydrazonoketenes 7. The transient ketenes 7 are observable in the form of weak bands at 2130 (7a) or 2115 cm-1 (7b) in the Ar matrix IR spectra resulting from either FVT or photolysis of either 5 or 1,1-dimethylpyrazolium-5-oxides 8, and these absorptions are in excellent agreement with B3LYP/6-31G* frequency calculations. Under FVT conditions the ketenes 7 cyclize to pyrazolium oxides 8, which undergo 1,4-migration of a methyl group to yield 1,4-dimethyl-3-phenylpyrazole-5(4H)-one 9a and 1,4,4-trimethyl-3- phenylpyrazole-5(4H)-one 9b. All three tautomers of 9a have been characterized, viz. the CH form 9a (most stable form in the gas phase, the solid state and solvents of low polarity), the OH form 9a' (metastable solid at room temperature) and the NH form 9a" (stable in aprotic dipolar solvents). The isomeric 1,4-dimethyl-5-phenylpyrazole-3(2H)- one 12 tautomerizes to the 3-hydroxypyrazole 12'. The crystal structure of the hydrochloride 14 of 9a'/9a" is reported, representing the first structurally characterised example of a protonated 5-hydroxypyrazole.     

低温基体隔离Mn_1(CO)_(10)的紫外激光光解

采用280nm和355nm的脉冲激光作光解光源,由FTIR进行初级产物探测,研究了Mn_2(CO)_(10)在低温基体隔离条件下的光解反应.结果表明,在Ar基体中,Mn_2(CO)_(10)经280nm激光光解的初级产物主要是Mn_2(CO)_9;而在Xe基体中还观察到了Mn(CO)_5的生成;与280nm激光相比,采用355nm激光光解Mn_2(CO)_(10),Mn_2(CO)_9的产率较低.     

Reactivity of cyano-substituted fluorenes in reaction with the tempo radical

The rate constants for the reaction of the TEMPO radical with fluorene, 2-cyanofluorene, and 9-cyanofluorene were determined by ESR. A comparison was made of the reactivity of the hydrocarbons in reaction with the TEMPO radical and the peroxyl radical. The quantum-chemical characteristics of the radicals and particles taking part in the reactions and also the characteristics of the transition states in the reactions of the TEMPO radical and cumenylperoxyl radical with fluorene were obtained by the PM3 method. __________ Translated from Teoreticheskaya i éksperimental’naya Khimiya, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 19–22, January–February, 2006.     

Rotational isomerism in acetic acid: the first experimental observation of the high-energy conformer

The high-energy conformer of acetic acid (cis-AA) is produced in an Ar matrix by vibrational excitation of the OH stretching overtone of the ground conformational state (trans-AA). IR-absorption spectroscopy provides a clear identification of the reaction product. cis-AA converts back to trans-AA in a time scale of minutes at 8 K by tunneling.     

Formation of CH3TiX, CH2=TiHX, and (CH3)2TiX2 by reaction of methyl chloride and bromide with laser-ablated titanium atoms: photoreversible alpha-hydrogen migration

The simple methylidene (CH2=TiHX) and Grignard-type (CH3TiX) complexes are produced by reaction of methyl chloride and bromide with laser-ablated Ti atoms and isolated in a solid Ar matrix, and they form a persistent photoreversible system via alpha-hydrogen migration between the carbon and titanium atoms. The Grignard-type product is transformed to the methylidene complex upon UV (240 nm < lambda < 380 nm) irradiation and vice versa with visible (lambda > 530 nm) irradiation. More stable dimethyl dihalide complexes [(CH3)2TiX2] are also identified, whose relative concentration increases upon annealing and at high methyl halide concentration. The reaction products are identified with three different groups of absorptions on the basis of the behaviors upon broadband photolysis and annealing, and the vibrational characteristics are in a good agreement with DFT computation results.     

Reaction of iminopropadienones with amines--formation of zwitterionic intermediates, ketenes, and ketenimines

Five aryliminopropadienones 4a- d have been synthesized by flash vacuum thermolysis (FVT) by using two different precursors in each case. These compounds were deposited at 50 K at a pressure of ca. 10(-6) mbar together with three different nucleophiles, namely, trimethylamine (TMA), dimethylamine (DMA), and diethylamine (DEA), in order to study their reactions as neat solids during warm-up by FTIR spectroscopy. The reaction with TMA showed that a zwitterionic species (5 and/or 6) was formed in all the cases. With DMA and DEA, an alpha-oxoketenimine and/or an imidoylketene (7 and 8 or 9 and 10) was formed as the final product. In addition, several bands were observed, which can be assigned to zwitterionic intermediates (11 or 12). Optimized structures and vibrational spectra for all products were calculated at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory by using the polarizable continuum model (epsilon = 5).     

Reaction path of UV photolysis of matrix isolated acetyl cyanide: formation and identification of ketenes, zwitterion, and keteneimine intermediates

Irradiations at lambda > 180 nm and lambda > 230 nm of CH3COCN (CD3COCN) trapped in an argon matrix at 10 K have been performed and monitored by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. For both wavelengths, the first photoreaction product is acetyl isocyanide. At lambda > 180 nm acetonitrile and methyl isocyanide are obtained as final products. They are formed by photolysis of acetyl isocyanide and acetyl cyanide, respectively. Unstable intermediates, such as ketene:HCN and ketene:HNC complexes, H2CNCH zwitterion, and H2C2NH keteneimine, not observed in the gas phase, are trapped and identified at our experimental temperature. The complexes have an L-shaped structure with a hydrogen bond between the oxygen atom of ketene and the hydrogen atom of HCN or HNC. A pathway process is proposed and compared with the ones determined in the ground state by ab initio calculations.     

Generation and characterization of the selenocysteinyl radical: direct evidence from time-resolved UV/Vis, electron paramagnetic resonance, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

The selenocysteinyl radical 1 has been generated for the first time by laser flash photolysis (lambda(exc) = 266 nm) of dimethyl bis(N-tert-butoxycarbonyl)-l-selenocystine 2 and of [(9-fluorenylideneamino)oxycarbonyl]methyl(N-tert-butoxycarbonyl)-l-selenocysteine 3 in acetonitrile and characterized by time-resolved (TR) UV/Vis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and electron paramagnetic spectroscopy in combination with theoretical methods. A detailed product study was conducted using gas chromatography and one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. In the case of [(9-fluorenylideneamino)oxycarbonyl]methyl(N-tert-butoxycarbonyl)-l-selenocysteine 3, the (9-fluorenylideneamino)oxycarbonyl moiety serves as a photolabile protection group providing a "caged selenocysteinyl radical" suitable for biophysical applications. Cleavage of the diselenide bridge or the selenium-carbonyl bond by irradiation is possible in high quantum yields. Because of the lack of a good IR chromophore in the mid-IR region, the selenocysteinyl radical 1 cannot be monitored directly by TR FTIR spectroscopy. TR UV/Vis spectroscopy revealed the formation of the selenocysteinyl radical 1 from both precursors. The selenocysteinyl radical 1 has a lifetime tau approximately 63 mus and exhibits a strong band located at lambda(max) = 335 nm. Calculated UV absorptions of the selenocysteinyl radical (UB3LYP/6-311G(d,p)) are in good agreement with the experimental results. The use of TR UV/Vis spectroscopy permitted the determination of the decay rates of the selenocysteinyl radical in the presence of two quenchers. The product studies demonstrated the reversible photoreaction of dimethyl bis(N-tert-butoxycarbonyl)-l-selenocystine 2. Products of the photolysis of the "caged selenocysteinyl radical" precursor 3 are dimethyl bis(N-tert-butoxycarbonyl)-l-selenocystine 2, carbon dioxide, and some further smaller fragments. In addition, the photodecomposition of the (9-fluorenylideneamino)oxycarbonyl moiety produced 9-fluorenone-oxime 4, 9-fluoren-imine 5, and 6 and 7 as products of the dimerization of two 9-fluorenoneiminoxy radicals 8.