Spirocyclizations Involving Oxonium Ylides Derived from Cyclic α-Diazocarbonyl Compounds: An Entry into...

New types of cyclic diazo compounds capable of Rh(II)-catalyzed spirocyclizations with tetrahydrofuran have been discovered. The formation of the spirocyclic framework is thought to proceed via the formation of Rh(II) carbene species followed by interaction with the Lewis basic oxygen atom of tetrahydrofuran to give oxonium ylide species. The latter evolves predominantly via the Stevens type rearrangement leading to an [n + 1] ring expansion of the tetrahydrofuran moiety, which results in the formation of a medicinally relevant 6-oxa-2-azaspiro[4.5]decane scaffold. The spirocyclization process was often observed in competition with mechanistically distinct C-H insertion into a tetrahydrofuran molecule. This competing process gave compounds based on the 3-(tetrahydrofur-2-yl)pyrrolidine scaffold, which are also relevant from the medicinal chemistry standpoint. These findings enrich the available arsenal of metal-catalyzed spirocyclization methods based on the use of cyclic diazo compounds.