Generation and Reactions of Novel Copper Carbenoids through a Stoichiometric Reaction of Copper Metal with gem-Dichlorides in Dimethyl Sulfoxide

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jo00288a056

Copper metal and such gem-dichlorides as α,α-dichloro acid esters, 1a-e, diphenyldichloromethane, 2, benzal chloride, 3, 1,1-dichloro-2-butene, 5, and carbon tetrachloride, 6, were found to produce copper carbenoid intermediates via α,α-elimination of dichlorides along with the formation of CuCl2(DMSO)2.Thus, 1 and 2 gave substituted olefins via a carbenoid coupling reaction.From 5 and 6, reaction products via the oxygen abstraction from DMSO were produced together with dimethyl sulfide; 3 and 4 were found to cause both types of reactions.The carbenoid intermediates formed from 1 did not cause cyclopropanation reaction with cyclohexene in contrast to the conventional carbalkoxy carbenoid generated by a decomposition reaction of ethyl diazoacetate.Also the carbenoid coupling reaction was completely inhibited by the addition of triphenylphosphine, which was contrastive to the formation of phosphonium ylide with a carbenoid from ethyl diazoacetate.