Reactions of pyridinium ylides with diazocarbonyl compounds involve the formation of functionalized azine intermediates that can undergo intramolecular cyclocondensation into tetrasubstituted pyridazines provided the starting reagents contain carbonyl groups. Reactions of pyridinium ylides with diazo compounds were studied for various substituents in both the substrates.Pyridinium and triphenylphosphonium ylides con taining a carbonyl or carboxyl group at the ylide C atom react with diazo esters to give polysubstituted pyrazoles or pyridazines. 1,2 Such reactions are of cascade character and involve sequential interactions of two molecules of phosphorus ylide (or three molecules of nitrogen ylide) with a molecule of diazo ester with simultaneous elimination of the ylide forming molecule. 3 For pyridinium ylides 1 containing a carboxyl or carbonyl group, these processes usually differ in the final step, namely, heterocyclization (Scheme 1). In the case of an azine containing four ester groups, cyclization leads, through the corresponding ene hydrazone, 1 to tetrahydropyridazinetetracarboxylate 2; for an azine containing a conjugated carbonyl group, cyclization gives tetrasubstituted pyridazine 3 via aldol condensation. 3 In both cases, the overall "one pot" pro cess results in the formation of one C-N bond and three new carbon-carbon bonds.
Results and DiscussionAs noted above, reactions of pyridinium ylides con taining a carbonyl or carboxyl group at the ylide C atom have been investigated only with diazo esters. To extend the scope of this reaction and obtain new heterocyclic compounds, here we studied a reaction of pyridinium benzoylmethylide with methyl diazoacetate and, for the first time, reactions of carbonyl and methoxycarbon yl containing pyridinium ylides with diazo ketones.In contrast to ylides 1a,b, pyridinium benzoylmeth ylide (1c) is stable under normal conditions 4 and thus can be both used in the individual state and generated from appropriate pyridinium salts under the action of bases. It turned out that ylide 1c reacts with methyl diazoacetate like ylide 1b, regardless of the way of its preparation (use of a specially prepared ylide for the reaction in CH 2 Cl 2 or in situ generation of the ylide from phenacylpyridini um bromide and K 2 CO 3 in acetonitrile). A series of cas cade transformations give substituted pyridazine 4 in 64-71% yield (Scheme 2). Essentially, a diazo acetate molecule adds through its terminal N atom to the ylide molecule with elimination of pyridine and formation of a reactive azine. Then two more ylide molecules add sequentially to the azine with elimination of two pyridine molecules. The final step of the process involves aldol cyclocondensation of tetrasubstituted azine 5 into py ridazine 4.As in the case of methylpyridazine 3, phenylpyridazine 4 exists in solution in the ketone and enol forms. Accord Scheme 1