Three-Component Reactions with Sterically Crowded 2,2,4,4-Tetramethyl-3-thioxocyclobutanone,Phenyl Azide,and Electron-Deficient C,C-Dipolarophiles

In order to trap ‘thiocarbonyl-aminides’ A , formed as intermediates in the reaction of thiocarbonyl compounds with phenyl azide, a mixture of 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-thioxocyclobutanone ( 1 ), phenyl azide, and fumarodinitrile ( 8 ) was heated to 80° until evolution of N₂ ceased. Two interception products of the ‘thiocarbonylaminide’ A (Ar?Ph) were formed: the known 1,4,2-dithiazolidine 3 (cf. Scheme 1) and the new 1,2-thiazolidine 12 (Scheme 2). The structure of the latter was established by X-ray crystallography (Fig.1). The analogous ‘three-component reaction’ with dimethyl fumarate ( 9 ) yielded, instead of 8 , in addition to the known interception products 3 and 6 (Scheme 1), two unexpected products 15 and 16 (Scheme 3), of which the structures were elucidated by X-ray crystallography (Fig.2). Their formation is rationalized by a primary 2 + 3] cycloaddition of diazo compound 18 with 1 to give 19 , followed by a cascade of further reactions (Scheme 4).