From dipivaloylketene to tetraoxaadamantanes.

Dipivaloylketene () is obtained by flash vacuum pyrolysis of furan-2,3-dione and dimerizes to 1,3-dioxin-4-one , which is a stable but reactive ketene. The transannular addition and rearrangement of enols formed by the addition of nucleophiles to the ketene function in generates axially chiral 2,6,9-trioxabicyclo[3.3.

Molecular cleft or tweezer compounds derived from trioxabicyclo[3.3.1]nonadiene diisocyanate and diacid dichloride.

The structures of two derivatives of the bisdioxine diisocyanate 1, the bisurea 4 and the biscarbamate 5, are established by X-ray crystallography and DFT calculations. These compounds possess endo,endo structures, in the case of the bisurea 4 with two nearly parallel pendant chains. The X-ray structures are reproduced very well by DFT calculations.

Synthesis of functionalized macrocyclic derivatives of trioxabicyclo[3.3.0]nonadiene.

C(72)-Macrocyclic systems functionalized with nitroaryl and arylamino groups were synthesized from the bisdioxine diacid dichloride 1,3,5,7-tetra-tert-butyl-2,6,9-trioxabicyclo[3.3.1]nona-3,7-diene-4,8-dicarbonyl dichloride (3).

Oxoketene-oxoketene, imidoylketene-imidoylketene and oxoketenimine-imidoylketene rearrangements. 1,3-Shifts of phenyl groups.

Dibenzoylketene 5 undergoes degenerate 1,3-shifts of the phenyl group between acyl and ketene carbon atoms, thus interconverting it with 6 and 7. This 1,3-shift takes place in the gas phase under flash vacuum thermolysis (FVT) conditions, but not in solution at 110-145 degrees C. Imidoyl(benzoyl)ketene 13 undergoes degenerate 1,3-shift of the phenyl group on FVT, thus interconverting it with 14, but the ketenimine isomer 15 is not formed, and none of these shifts take place in the solid state at 250 degrees C.

N-aminopyrroledione-hydrazonoketene-pyrazolium oxide-pyrazolone rearrangements and pyrazolone tautomerism.

Flash vacuum thermolysis (FVT) of 1-(dimethylamino)pyrrole-2,3-diones 5 causes extrusion of CO with formation of transient hydrazonoketenes 7. The transient ketenes 7 are observable in the form of weak bands at 2130 (7a) or 2115 cm-1 (7b) in the Ar matrix IR spectra resulting from either FVT or photolysis of either 5 or 1,1-dimethylpyrazolium-5-oxides 8, and these absorptions are in excellent agreement with B3LYP/6-31G* frequency calculations. Under FVT conditions the ketenes 7 cyclize to pyrazolium oxides 8, which undergo 1,4-migration of a methyl group to yield 1,4-dimethyl-3-phenylpyrazole-5(4H)-one 9a and 1,4,4-trimethyl-3- phenylpyrazole-5(4H)-one 9b.

Substituent Effects on Site Selectivity (C=C vs C=N) in Heterocumulene-Heterodiene [4 + 2] Cycloadditions: Density Functional and Semiempirical AM1 Molecular Orbital Calculations.

The effect of substituents on the site selectivity (C=C vs C=N) in the [4 + 2] cycloaddition between heterocumulenes (ketene imines) 2a-g with heterodienes (acroleines 9a-n and 4-acylfuran-2,3-diones 1a-d) is treated by semiempirical AM1 molecular orbital and density functional calculations using Becke's three-parameter hybrid method (B3LYP/6-31G). For some reactions calculations were also done at the B3LYP/6-31+G level of theory. For reaction of the oxa 1,3-dienes with ketene imines unsubstituted at the terminal carbon invariably addition across the C=C heterocumulene double bond has a lower activation energy than addition across the C=N double bond.