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Updated: Feb 22, 2026

Continuous Flow Chemistry: Reaction of Diphenyldiazomethane with p-Nitrobenzoic Acid
Published on: November 15, 2017
Synthesis and Utilization of Nitroalkyne Equivalents in Batch and Continuous Flow
Peter D Morse1, Timothy F Jamison1
1Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
Abstract:
We report a method for overcoming the low stability of nitroalkynes through the development of nitrated vinyl silyltriflate equivalents. Because of their instability, nitroalkynes have only rarely been utilized in synthesis. The reactivity of these silyltriflates, which are prepared in situ, is exemplified by dipolar cycloaddition reactions with nitrones to give highly substituted 4-nitro-4-isoxazolines in high yields. This approach has proven general for several different alkyl and aryl substituted alkynes. In order to minimize the accumulation of potentially hazardous reaction intermediates, we have also developed a continuous flow variant of this method that is capable of carrying out the entire reaction sequence in a good yield and a short residence time.
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