An exploratory study of ring closures of aryl radicals onto cyclopropyl- and oxiranyl-isocyanate acceptors.

The idea that ring closures of C-centred radicals onto isocyanates could be made permanent by designing the cyclised radical to undergo a rapid onward beta-scission, was investigated for the 2-(2-isocyanato)cyclopropylphenyl and 2-(2-isocyanato)oxiranylphenyl radicals. The radical precursors, trans- and cis-1-bromo-(2-isocyanatocyclopropyl)benzene and (2-bromophenyl)-3-isocyanatooxirane, were prepared from the corresponding bromophenylcyclopropane and bromophenyloxirane carboxylic acids via Curtius rearrangements of the derived azides. The structure of the trans-2-(2-isocyanato)cyclopropylphenyl radical prevents cyclization, however, it was shown that isomerisation to the analogous cis-radical occurred, probably by scission of the disubstituted cyclopropane bond followed by internal rotation of the resulting resonance stabilised diradical.

Radical ring closures of 4-isocyanato carbon-centered radicals.

The 2-(2-isocyanatophenyl)ethyl radical was generated from the corresponding bromide with tributyltin and tris(trimethylsilyl)silyl radicals and shown to ring close in the 6-endo-mode to afford 3,4-dihydro-1H-quinolin-2-one as the major product. Cyclization in the 5-exo-mode to produce 2,3-dihydroindole-1-carbaldehyde, after hydrogen abstraction, was a minor reaction. Rate constants for the two processes were estimated and compared with reaction enthalpies computed by the DFT method.