Diazomethane umpolung atop anthracene: an electrophilic methylene transfer reagent. 2018

Maximilian Joost, and Wesley J Transue, and Christopher C Cummins
Department of Chemistry , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge , MA 02139 , USA . Email: ccummins@mit.edu.

Formal addition of diazomethane's terminal nitrogen atom to the 9,10-positions of anthracene yields H2CN2 A (1, A = C14H10 or anthracene). The synthesis of this hydrazone is reported from Carpino's hydrazine H2N2 A through treatment with paraformaldehyde. Compound 1 has been found to be an easy-to-handle solid that does not exhibit dangerous heat or shock sensitivity. Effective umpolung of the diazomethane unit imbues 1 with electrophilicity at the methylene carbon center. Its reactivity with nucleophiles such as H2CPPh3 and N-heterocyclic carbenes is exploited for C[double bond, length as m-dash]C bond formation with elimination of dinitrogen and anthracene. Similarly, 1 is demonstrated to deliver methylene to a nucleophilic singlet d2 transition metal center, W(ODipp)4 (2), to generate the robust methylidene complex [2[double bond, length as m-dash]CH2]. This behavior is contrasted with that of the Wittig reagent H2CPPh3, a more traditional and Brønsted basic methylene source that upon exposure to 2 contrastingly forms the methylidyne salt [MePPh3][2[triple bond, length as m-dash]CH].

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