Synthesis of a New α-Azidomethyl Styrene from Safrole via a Dearomative Rearrangement.

There is a growing interest in developing more efficient synthetic alternatives for the synthesis of nitrogen-containing allylic compounds. This article presents a straightforward two-step protocol to produce 5-(3-azidoprop-1-en-2-yl)benzo[][1,3]dioxole from the natural product safrole. The method yielded the expected α-azidomethyl styrene , in good yield, via a dearomative rearrangement.