10.1021/jo00099a041
The study explores the synthesis of morpholin-2-ones via the Stevens [1,2]-shift mechanism. The researchers prepared 2-(N,N-dialkylamino)ethyl diazoacetoacetates (compounds 2) from readily available ethanolamines (compounds 1) in a two-step process. These diazoacetoacetates were then heated in the presence of catalytic copper to form morpholinones (compounds 3), presumably via the intermediacy of copper carbenoids and cyclic ammonium ylides. The study found that benzylic or allylic migrating groups typically underwent the [1,2]-shift in good yield (55-80%), while simple alkyl groups, except for tert-butyl, failed to rearrange. The study also investigated the use of different copper catalysts and their impact on the yield of the desired morpholinone products. The findings suggest that this method provides a straightforward route to morpholinones, which can serve as precursors to various amino acid derivatives, thus contributing to the development of synthetic methods for a-amino acids and their derivatives.