Understanding Mechanistic Differences between 3-Diazoindolin-2-Imines and N-Sulfonyl-1,2,3-Triazoles in the Rh2(II)-Catalyzed Reactions with Nitrosoarenes

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/cjoc.202100033

The employment of α-iminometallocarbenes to construct valuable N-containing compounds has attracted significant research interest. Herein, the nucleophilic addition of nitrosoarenes with the α-imino rhodium carbene species (I), which is derived from Rh₂(II)-catalyzed denitrogenation of 3-diazoindolin-2-imines, to produce synthetically useful 2-iminoindolin-nitrones is described. Mechanistically, the N-attack of nitrosoarenes with the carbene site of I is proposed. For the analogous Rh₂(II)-catalyzed reaction of nitrosoarenes with N-sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazoles reported by Li and co-workers (Org. Lett. 2014, 16, 6394), however, the O-attack of nitrosoarenes with the carbene site of α-imino rhodium carbene species (II) is more favorable to occur than the N-attack. The subsequent transformation to yield the product of N-acylamidines is rationalized based on computational studies. The mechanistic differences for the reactions of nitrosoarenes with α-imino rhodium carbene species I and II are discussed.