Intramolecular Carbene C-H Insertion Reactions of 2-Diazo-2-sulfamoylacetamides.

The intramolecular C-H insertions of carbenes derived from 2-diazo-2-sulfamoylacetamides were studied. 2-Diazo-2-sulfamoylacetamides were first prepared from chloroacetyl chloride and secondary amines through acylation followed by sequential treatments with sodium sulfite, phosphorus oxychloride, secondary amines, and 4-nitrobenzenesulfonyl azide. The results indicate that: (1) 2-diazo-N,N-dimethyl-2-(N,N-diphenylsulfamoyl)acetamide can take the formal aromatic 1,5-C-H insertion in its N-phenylsulfonamide moiety to afford the corresponding 1,3-dihydrobenzo[c]isothiazole-3-carboxamide 2,2-dioxide derivative; (2) no aliphatic C-H insertions occur for 2-diazo-2-(N,N-dialkylsulfamoyl)acetamides; and (3) for 2-diazo-N-phenyl-2-(N-phenylsulfamoyl)acetamides, the formal aromatic 1,5-C-H insertion in the N-phenylacetamide moiety is favorable to afford the corresponding 3-sulfamoylindolin-2-one derivatives as sole or major products. The intramolecular competitive aromatic 1,5-C-H insertion reactions of 2-diazo-2-sulfamoylacetamides with aryl groups on both amide and sulfonamide groups reveal that the N-aryl substituents on acetamide are more active than those on sulfonamide. The chemoselectivity is controlled by electronic effect of the aryl group.

Thermal conversion of primary alcohols to disulfides via xanthate intermediates: an extension to the Chugaev elimination.

Primary alcohols are converted into dialkyl disulfides via heating in situ generated O-alkyl S-difluoro(ethoxycarbonyl)methyl xanthates from ethyl bromodifluoroacetate and potassium xanthates, prepared from primary alcohols and carbon disulfide in the presence of KOH. The reaction mechanism is suggested as an alkyl C[1,3] shift followed by a radical mechanism. This extends to the Chugaev elimination which yields olefins. The current research provides easy access to dialkyl disulfides from commercially available primary alkanols.