Selective syntheses of 2H-1,3-oxazines and 1H-pyrrol-3(2H)-ones via temperature-dependent Rh(II)-carbenoid-mediated 2H-azirine-ring expansion Dedicated to Professor Armin de Meijere on the occasion of his 75th birthday

Abstract The Rh(II)-catalyzed reaction of 2-carbonyl-substituted 2H-azirines with ethyl 2-cyano-2-diazoacetate or 2-diazo-3,3,3-trifluoropropionate provides an easy access to 2H-1,3-oxazines and 1H-pyrrol-3(2H)-ones. These compounds can be selectively prepared from the same starting material using temperature as the only varied parameter. The 2-azabuta-1,3-diene intermediate, a common precursor for both heterocyclic products, isomerizes into 2H-1,3-oxazine under kinetic control, while 1H-pyrrol-3(2H)-one is the sole product of the reaction at elevated temperatures. According to DFT-calculations a one-atom oxazine ring contraction involving ring-opening to a 2-azabuta-1,3-diene intermediate, followed by a 1,5- and 1,2-prototropic shift leads to the consecutive formation of imidoylketene and azomethine ylide, which then further undergo cyclization to the pyrrole derivative.