ABSTRACT
Solvolysis of 4-alkoxycarbonyl-(or 4-acyl)-3-oxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolizinium ylides (1-4) was studied and three types of reactions were found to proceed competitively. Thus, alcoholysis afforded the Chichibabin rearrangement products, 2,3-dihydro-2-indolizinones (5-8), solvolysis in trifluoroethanol or in aqueous methanol caused ring opening (and subsequent ester cleavage) to 2-alkoxycarbonylethylpyridinium-1-acetates 10, 15, and 16, and hydrolysis resulted in ring opening to 1-alkoxycarbonylmethylpyridinium-2-propionates 11 or 13 (and subsequently to 12 or 14). Characteristically, all the types of reactions proceeded significantly faster with t-butoxycarbonyl substituted ylides than with smaller alkoxycarbonyl substituted ones. The general mechanism for the solvolysis, involving a ketene intermediate, is proposed based on kinetic measurements.
ABSTRACT
By the Cu(II)-catalyzed reaction of 2-(4-diazo-3-oxoalkyl)pyridines (2), 4-alkoxycarbonyl (or 4-acyl)-3-oxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolizinium ylides (3) were obtained in high yields. From the cycloaddition reaction of 3 with acetylenic esters (propynoates or acetylenedicarboxylates) the labile [2 + 3] cycloadducts, 3-oxo-3H-2a,4,5,8a-tetrahydropyrrolo[2,1,5-de]quinolizine-2a-carboxylates (8 or 12), were identified, which further reacted with DMAD (dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate) to afford azocine derivatives (15 or 16) and produced pyrrolodihydroquinolizines (9 or 20) by dealkoxycarbonylation.