1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of trimethylsilyldiazomethane revisited: steric demand of the dipolarophile and the influence on product distribution

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of trimethylsilyldiazomethane with alpha,beta-unsaturated esters was examined. The resulting 1-pyrazolines isomerize to regioisomeric 2-pyrazolines (a or b) or undergo desilylation (c). Acrylates yield only b or c. beta-Substituted dipolarophiles may yield all three types of products. This work demonstrates that the distribution of 2-pyrazoline products is highly dependent on the relative configuration of the substituents on the 1-pyrazoline intermediate.