Ring Expansions of Boroles with Diazo Compounds: Steric Control of C or N Insertion and Aromatic/Nonaromatic Products

Access to novel imine‐substituted 1,2‐azaborinines, as well as highly arylated boracyclohexa‐3,5‐dienes has been developed by ring expansion of boroles with diazoalkanes with varying degrees of steric bulk. The formation of a diazoalkane intermediate is also discussed for the reaction of ortho‐brominated p‐tolyl‐azide with 1,2,3,4,5‐pentaphenylborole. Structural details as well as UV/Vis spectroscopic and cyclic voltammetric data are provided. These boron‐containing heterocycles have the potential to serve as building blocks for boron‐containing materials.     

Stable N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-palladium(0) complexes as active catalysts for olefin cyclopropanation reactions with ethyl diazoacetate

The Pd(0) complexes [(NHC)PdL(n)] (NHC=N-heterocyclic carbene ligand; L=styrene for n=2 or PR(3) for n=1) efficiently catalyse olefin cyclopropanation by using ethyl diazoacetate (EDA) as the carbene source with activities that improve on previously described catalytic systems based on this metal. Mechanistic studies have shown that all of these catalyst precursors deliver the same catalytic species in solution, that is, [(IPr)Pd(sty)], a 14e(-) unsaturated intermediate that further reacts with EDA to afford [(IPr)Pd(=CHCO(2)Et)(sty)], from which the cyclopropane is formed.     

Catalytic Asymmetric Syntheses of Alkylidenecyclopropanes from Allenoates with Donor-Acceptor and Diacceptor Diazo Reagents

The first diastereo- and enantioselective cyclopropanation reactions of electron-deficient allenes with donor-acceptor and diacceptor diazo reagents are described. The desired enantioenriched alkylidenecyclopropanes (ACPs) were obtained in high yields with high diastereo- and enantioselectivities in the presence of Rh₂((S)-TCPTAD)₄ or Rh₂((R)-BTPCP)₄ catalysts (up to 95 % yield, >95 : 5 d.r. and 99 : 1 e.r.). This methodology gave a direct access to ACPs bearing multiple electron-deficient substituents and allows to further expand the availability of ACPs chemistry. Interestingly, during the examination of the scope of this reaction, the asymmetric intramolecular C−H insertion reaction into tert-butyl group was observed as a side reaction with up to 94 : 6 e.r.     

Cyclopentadienyl rhodium(III) complexes as catalysts for the insertion of phenyldiazoacetate into E−H bonds

Rhodium(III) complexes catalyze the insertion of carbenoids generated from diazo compounds into E?H bonds (E = B, Si, N, but not C), although less efficiently than classical rhodium(II) carboxylates, despite formally higher oxidation state of the metal.     

Imidazotetrazines as Weighable Diazomethane Surrogates for Esterifications and Cyclopropanations

Diazomethane is one of the most versatile reagents in organic synthesis, but its utility is limited by its hazardous nature. Although alternative methods exist to perform the unique chemistry of diazomethane, these suffer from diminished reactivity and/or correspondingly harsher conditions. Herein, we describe the repurposing of imidazotetrazines (such as temozolomide, TMZ, the standard of care for glioblastoma) for use as synthetic precursors of alkyl diazonium reagents. TMZ was employed to conduct esterifications and metal‐catalyzed cyclopropanations, and results show that methyl ester formation from a wide variety of substrates is especially efficient and operationally simple. TMZ is a commercially available solid that is non‐explosive and non‐toxic, and should find broad utility as a replacement for diazomethane.