Nonsymmetrical Azocarbonamide Carboxylates as Effective Mitsunobu Reagents

Abstract

Abstract A family of nonsymmetrical Mitsunobu reagents possessing both dialkyl amide and ester substituents was developed. These new reagents were readily prepared in a single pot from inexpensive, commercially available materials by using a scalable and environmentally friendly procedure. They were shown to exhibit activity parallel to that of diethyl azodicarboxylate/diisopropyl azodicarboxylate in a wide variety of Mitsunobu reactions. Importantly, the acyl hydrazine reaction byproducts were readily separable from the crude mixture by standard aqueous workup. In addition, the discovery of effective nonsymmetrical Mitsunobu reagents offers new directions for the ongoing development of this important reaction.