Gold vs Light: Chemodivergent Reactivity of Diazoesters toward 2 H-Azirine-2-carboxylic Acids

Org Lett. 2023 Apr 21;25(15):2707-2712. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.3c00823. Epub 2023 Apr 6.

Abstract

An orthogonal reactivity of diazo compounds toward azirine-2-carboxylic acids, switching with the reaction conditions, is demonstrated. A gold-catalyzed reaction is N-selective and produces 1,3-oxazin-6-ones, whereas a blue light activation leads to O-H insertion products, azirine-2-carboxylic esters. The observed chemodivergence is explained by the metal-bound and metal-free carbenes exhibiting different electronic properties in these reactions. In addition, a high antibacterial potential of the 1,3-oxazin-6-ones synthesized is shown.