Unexpected Insertion Reaction of Dimethoxycarbene with Imidazole-2(3H)-thiones

Abstract

The reaction of in situ generated dimethoxycarbene with 1,4,5-trisubstituted imidazole-2(3H)-thiones yields 3-(dimethoxymethyl)imidazole-2(3H)-thiones in good yield via insertion intothe N-H bond. The structure of the products was established by spectroscopic data and, in the case of 7b, by X-ray crystallography.