Copper-Catalyzed Transformation of Hydrazones into Halogenated Azabutadienes, Versatile Building Blocks for Organic Synthesis

A one-step copper-catalyzed reaction of aldehyde-derived N-substituted hydrazones with CCl4 resulted in efficient synthesis of 4,4-dichloro-1,2-diazabuta-1,3-dienes. It was proven that this C–C bond-forming cascade reaction operates via an addition of trichloromethyl radical to the C═N bond of hydrazone followed by a base-induced elimination of HCl. The reaction was found to be very general, as diverse hydrazones possessing various aromatic groups at N-site, as well as aromatic, aliphatic, and heterocyclic substituents at C-site, are capable partners for coupling with a wide range of polyhalogenated compounds (CCl3Br, CBr4, CCl3CN, CCl3COOEt, CCl3CF3, CBr3CF3) to produce a family of functionalized 1,2-diazabuta-1,3-dienes. It was demonstrated that the prepared heterodienes are highly versatile building blocks for straightforward assembly of various valuable acyclic and heterocyclic molecules.