Photogeneration and reactivity of acyl nitroso compounds

Acyl nitroso compounds have been generated by photolysis of several different classes of precursors including 9,10-dimethylanthracene adducts, nitrodiazo compounds, and 1,2,4-oxadiazole-4-oxides. Consideration of the nitronate-like resonance structure of nitrodiazo compounds led to an examination of the photochemistry of nitronates with α-leaving groups. Photolysis of such nitronates has been shown to generate an acyl nitroso species along with a carbene intermediate. Nanosecond time-resolved infrared (TRIR) spectroscopy has been used to detect photogenerated acyl nitroso compounds directly and to examine their reaction kinetics with amines and thiols. The mechanism of acyl nitroso aminolysis by primary amines involves general base catalysis, while the mechanism of aminolysis by secondary amines is strictly bimolecular. Thiols do not seem to be reactive with acyl nitroso compounds on the microsecond time scale, but thiolates are quite reactive. The reaction between benzoyl nitroside and an organic-soluble thiolate, tetrabutylammonium dodecanethiolate, proceeds via a proposed tetrahedral intermediate, which is observable by TRIR spectroscopy.

Practical olefin aziridination with a broad substrate scope

The present study illustrates the possibility of a rational approach that bypasses the requirement for stoichiometric amounts of toxic oxidants and metal additives (including reagents and catalysts) in organic redox reactions. We describe an aziridination process that delivers a nitrene functionality to olefins from a readily available N-aminophthalimide. Remarkably, both electron-rich and electron-poor olefins are converted to aziridines with high efficiency. The continuum of applied potentials and the heterogeneous nature of reactions at electrode surfaces allow for the electrochemical discrimination of substrates which have similar redox potentials and therefore cannot be selectively reduced or oxidized using soluble reagents. This selectivity is due to the phenomenon of overpotential, the kinetic inhibition of electron transfer on a particular electrode surface.