Recent Advances in Transition-Metal-Catalyzed Denitrogenative Transformations­ of 1,2,3-Triazoles and Related Compounds

Abstract

Suitably substituted electron-deficient 1,2,3-triazoles exist in equilibrium with their ring-opened α-diazoimine tautomers. This phenomenon was used to facilitate the generation of synthetically useful metallo azavinyl carbene intermediates. In this short review, we describe recent developments in the transition-metal-catalyzed decomposition of electron-deficient (annulated) 1,2,3-triazoles to form metallo azavinyl carbenes, and their application in the synthesis of highly functionalized nitrogen-based heterocycles and building blocks through various synthetic transformations, such as transannulation, cyclopropanations, insertion reactions, ylide formation/rearrangements, and ring expansions.