Role of conformation and electronic structure in the chemistry of ground and excited state o-pyrazolylphenylnitrenes

The chemistry of 2-(1-pyrazolyl)- (2a) and 2-1-(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl]phenylnitrene (2b) has been studied in EtOH solution at room temperature, in EtOH glasses at 90 K, and in Ar matrices at 12 K. These nitrenes were chosen as suitable models for clarifying the mechanism of intramolecular reactions because attack at the pyrazole ring can occur according to different modes and the asymmetry of the substituent gives rise to different conformations. Detailed DFT and CASSCF/CASPT2 studies on the conformation and decay paths of both spin states of the nitrenes have been carried out. Ring expansion to dehydroazepines (via benzoazirines) is calculated to be competitive in both nitrenes, but in the dimethyl derivative, 2b, attack onto the N lone pair (which is made more nucleophilic by the methyl groups) is favored. The higher barriers (by 4-8 kcal/mol) in singlet 2a cause 60-70% of this nitrene to decay by intersystem crossing to the triplet. Thus, the seemingly straightforward formation of benzo-fused heterocycles through intramolecular attack of the pyrazoline N lone pair by the singlet phenylnitrene can only overcome ring expansion and intermolecular reactions under favorable circumstances. The comparatively persistent triplet nitrenes are characterized in matrices, and the yields of photocyclization products (mainly pyrazolo1,5-a]benzimidazole (7) from 2a and 5,6-dihydropyrazolo1,5-a]quinoxaline (8) from 2b) are shown to depend on the preferred conformation of the starting azide and nitrene.