Photochemistry of methylenenitrones and related compounds. A study of oxaziridine and nitrene formation

Abstract

Abstract A series of N ‐alkylmethylenenitrones has been prepared and can be irradiated cleanly to simple N ‐alkyloxaziridines. Further irradiations of these systems lead to N ‐alkylformamides via a singlet state rearrangement process. Triplet state fragmentation to give amines, presumably via alkyl nitrenes, has been observed but with very low efficiency. Only N ‐aryl systems appear to lead to significant nitrene formation.