Methods have been devised to generate
1H-1,3-diaza-1,3-butadienes bearing a leaving group
at
position-4 in latent, masked, and unprotected forms. A hallmark of
these azadienes is that they
undergo thermal [4π + 2π] cycloaddition reactions with electron
deficient acetylenes to give adducts
which are aromatized to pyrimidine derivatives under the reaction
conditions. Thus, 1-(methoxycarbonyl)-3-acylamidines 17 on heating in solution are
converted in situ into the 1,3-diaza-1,3-dienes 18 and/or 19 which react with dimethyl
acetylenedicarboxylate (DMAD) to produce the
pyrimidines 20. The 1-Boc-1,3-diaza-1,3-dienes
24 are masked forms of the 1H-dienes
inasmuch
as they react with DMAD under relatively mild conditions to give the
dihydropyrimidine adducts
25, which are easily detectable by 1H NMR
spectroscopy, and which aromatize to pyrimidines
26
at higher temperatures. The 4-methylthio compounds 31
and 33, and the 2-(trichloromethyl)
compounds 37, are isolable, relatively stable,
1H-1,3-diaza-1,3-butadienes. These easily
prepared
compounds react with electron deficient acetylenes under mild
conditions to provide the pyrimidines
20, 34, and 38, respectively, in fair
to excellent yields. The 2-(trichloromethyl)pyrimidines
38 are
very useful precursors of a wide variety of other 2-substituted
pyrimidines 46-52.