Novel photochemical reactions of carbocyclic diazodiketones without elimination of nitrogen - a suitable way to N-hydrazonation of C-H-bonds.

The sensitized photoexcitation of 2-diazocyclopentane-1,3-diones in the presence of THF leads to the insertion of the terminal N-atom of the diazo group into the α-С-Н bond of THF, producing the associated -alkylhydrazones in yields of up to 63-71%. Further irradiation of hydrazones derived from furan-fused tricyclic diazocyclopentanediones culminates in the cycloelimination of furans to yield 2--(alkyl)hydrazone of cyclopentene-1,2,3-trione. By contrast, the direct photolysis of carbocyclic diazodiketones gives only Wolff rearrangement products with up to 90-97% yield.

Rh(II)-mediated domino [4 + 1]-annulation of α-cyanothioacetamides using diazoesters: A new entry for the synthesis of multisubstituted thiophenes.

A new approach towards the synthesis of multisubstituted thiophenes is elaborated based on Rh(II)-catalyzed domino reactions of acyclic diazoesters with α-cyanothioacetamides. It provides a way for the preparation of 5-amino-3-(alkoxycarbonylamino)thiophene-2-carboxylates, 2-(5-amino-2-methoxycarbonylthiophene-3-yl)aminomalonates and (2-cyano-5-aminothiophene-3-yl)carbamates with the preparative yields of up to 67%. It was also shown that α-cyanothioacetamides easily interact with dirhodium carboxylates to give rather stable 2:1 complexes, resulting in an evident decrease in the efficiency of the catalytic process at moderate temperatures (20-30 °C).